From Corpus to Konoha : A Neji Love Story
by rikoxriko
Summary: A girl named Rebecca runs away from home one night and finds herself in the Naruto world, with a crush on Neji Huyga, a guy you would not expect to have a soft side. Neji/OC! Enjoy! T for language issues.
1. Chapter 1 : The Boy From The Wood

Rebecca's Point Of View

I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to block out my parents screaming. They were fighting again, this time about me.

"She was a mistake."

"You can't say that about Rebecca, John. You are her father."

I rolled over, sick to my stomach. My damp, jet black hair clung to my face by the sweat dripping off my temples. It was much too hot in my room, and the clinging, damp air of Corpus Christi, Texas wasn't helping much either. I climbed out of my bed soundlessly and slipped though my bedroom window onto the roof. I slipped down the gutter pipe as quietly as possible and ran across the lawn, bag on my back and music from my iPod's calming music seeping into my soul.

This was the night I was running far away. To Houston, to my friend Maria's house. There I would start over and never see my horrible parents ever again.

* * *

The highway at night was pretty empty, and the winds off of the Gulf of Mexico cooled my skin as I walked. The road was next to the beach, so I walked on the beach, my feet splashing in the cool waters of high tide. The full moon made beautiful reflections on the waves. I stopped for a while and enjoyed it, then walked up the beach and stopped underneath the highway. I saw a group of reeds and walked into them, intrigued by the strange plants. As soon as I stepped into them, I was surrounded by nothing but these plants. I couldn't see the sky, just these blue and green exotic plants. I stepped through them carefully, trying my best not to prick myself on something hidden in the darkness.

After a while, I came to a clearing from the reeds and found myself in a clearing in a forest. The settings had changed. The sun warmed my back and birds chirped in the distance.

Weird.

I walked through the strange trees that I had never seen before and found myself at a pool of water. The person I saw as not like me at all. Sure, the hair, that face, and the blue eyes were familiar, but I was covered in muscle. My legs were lean, but powerful, and my arms were lean too. My hair was brought back in a tall ponytail and it hung down to about my mid-back. I had on strange clothes, kinds like something a ninja would, and I was barefoot. Tight fingerless gloves of black leather were on my hands, and a pouch of knives was on my left leg.

It was all I could do not to scream.

This wasn't real. I must have fainted or fell asleep in the reeds. I sat down and waited this whack dream to go away.

"I have to get home…" Then I realized it. I had left. I could start over, no matter where I was. I grabbed one of the knives and threw it at something moving in the bushes. I heard a cry of pain and something sinking into flesh. I walked over to the bush cautiously. A small rabbit with my knife in it lay bleeding in the grass. I blinked and turned, and then my dinner from the night before made a not so nice return from my stomach.

After I washed my face in the river, I turned again to the rabbit, knowing I had nothing left to return from the digested world. I pulled the skin off with the knife and skewered the rabbit onto a long stick. I grabbed some matches from my backpack and lit a fire to roast the rabbit's meat for dinner. Or was it breakfast? I had come from a place of darkness and night, and now it seemed that the day had just started. I grabbed my compass and noticed that the sun was to the east. Breakfast it is. After a while, the rabbit's smells delighted my hunger and I ate the sweet meat quickly. It was enough. I had to set off and find someone, or some civilization.

* * *

????'s Point Of View

I moved quietly through the bushes, waiting quietly until it was the perfect opportunity to strike. The girl had successfully caught a rabbit without any traps, so she seemed dangerous. Even if she had been so disgusted at the dead animal, she just ate it, so I guess it was normal for her. I pulled a kunai out of my pocket, waiting for my target to get closer.

Silent.

Stealthy.

Lee crashing through the woods toward me…..

Nice Lee, very smooth. The girl turned around to see Lee push trough the trees and rumble into the clearing not very far from the girl. "Have you seen a guy about our age, long black hair, and a fair bit taller than me around here?" The girl blinked in confusion. "Um…no, you are the first person I've seen in this forest." I walked out and sighed. "I'm right here Lee." "Oh Neji, there you are!!"

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

After nearly getting run over by some guy with tacky bowl-cutted hair, out stepped the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen, with long, black hair and light lavender eyes. He gracefully stepped next to that guy, Lee apparently, watching me with those beautiful eyes carefully. I could drown in those eyes. My heart would probably stop beating if I looked too long. So I looked at that Lee guy, trying to ignore the boy who stepped out of the wood…

Neji


	2. Chapter 2 : Neji, Rebecca, and Lee

Rebecca's Point Of View

"So what you're saying is, you came from a place called Corpos Christie?" "No, it's Corpus Christi." I popped the sweet dongo thing they gave me into my mouth, correcting Lee's mispronunciation. "Whatever, so you came here through a field of strange green and blue plants?" I smiled. "I know I probably sound like I need to go to mental institution or something, but I'm not kidding. That's how I got here." I popped another into my mouth. These were good.

Lee, Neji and I had sat down to have a snack after I told them I had no idea where I was. Neji had remained silent most the entire time. An awkward silence fell over us, leaving me squirming for an excuse to say something. Where was I going to go if they didn't believe me?

Suddenly, I heard a knife whizzing through the air to Neji's back. I jumped in front of it before it sunk into where his heart was. I felt the cool metal sink into my arm. I winced, pulled it out, and threw the knife into the soft earth beneath my feet. Neji and Lee had already started fending off opponents coming from all sides of the woods. I ran to my backpack, grabbed a couple of matches and lit them. Then, I ran over to Lee's opponent and shoved the burning wood into the back of the man's neck. It caught his hair on fire, and he screamed and started rolling on the ground. Neji finished off an opponent and flung a knife at the rolling man. It landed in his arm, and I grabbed the knife I had thrown into the ground and chucked it at him as hard as I could.

The knife landed in between the man's two eyes exactly in the middle. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I had just killed someone.

Neji and Lee walked over to me after all of our attackers were gone. I was fixing my arm up with the first aid kit I had brought. Lee knelt down and picked me up and swung me on his back.

Not awkward at all.

"What are you doing?"

"You're hurt. We need to take you back to Kohana to see the Fifth."

I didn't know who the "Fifth" was, but I figured he was some healer type person. As for "Kohana", well that was a mystery too.

"I don't walk on my arm ya know."

Neji smirked. It looked like he thought I was an idiot.

"Well, you're going to loose too much blood if you walk. Lee, let me carry her. Go ahead and get some ANBU to come. We need to get her arm fixed as soon as possible." Lee hesitated. "But Neji, you…you're not going to kill her are you?" "No, now that I know she's not the enemy, I won't." I shivered. He had tried to kill me? "Okay. Should I take the weights off?" Neji nodded, and Lee reached down to his legs and pulled off some weights and ran off, the fastest I had ever seen anyone run. It was amazing. Neji picked me up silently as I clutched my arm, and he swung me onto my back. I hesitantly put my head against his back, watching trees and woodland animals flying by me. He seemed to be running so fast. It was impossible for any normal human to run that fast.

Eventually, I fell asleep. Wondering where I was going.


	3. Chapter 3 : Decisions, Decisions

I woke up in a hospital room, in a white-covered bed adjacent to a window overlooking a small town. _Where am I? _I thought, getting up, examining my arm. It was completely healed, with only a small, light scar showing on my pale skin. The door in my room opened to reveal a blonde, rather busty lady walking into the room. She didn't look too happy.

"Who are you?"

I blinked, rather confused by this woman's random outburst. "Rebecca Harrison…who are you?" The woman didn't seem too happy that I didn't know who she was.

"What? Did you live under a rock or something? I'm Tsunade, the 5th Hokage of Kohana, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "I blinked again.

"Say what?" She rolled her eyes at me, clearly annoyed. "Where did you come from?"

"Corpus Christi, Texas, which is in the United States of America." She raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms across her chest. "So Lee and Neji were telling the truth that you're not from here…." She paced around the room a couple of times, and then called one of the guards from outside of my room. He came in, bowed at her, and then she spoke to him in a low tone that I couldn't quite hear. The man with a strange cat mask nodded, made some weird hand gesture, and then disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"Holy crap!" The lady smiled. "That's one of the elite ninja of the village, an ANBU. I nodded. Obviously, her interrogation was just a fake to make sure I wasn't some psychopath or something.

"Welcome to Kohana. I am Tsunade, the leader of this village. Do you have a home somewhere we can help you back to?" I shook my head and told her my story. I didn't want to go back there. I would never, ever go back.

"I understand Rebecca. You may stay here in Kohana if you'd like." I flushed at Tsunade's offer. It was odd that someone I had just met was asking me to stay in her town. "That would make me very happy Madame Tsunade. Thank you very much." I bowed. I wasn't sure how to address people in this world, but I figured that that was how to do it.

Luckily, she nodded. I got it right.

"You may address me as Godiame Sama, Hokage Sama, or Lady Tsunade. Which ever you like will work." She turned to the door, leaving. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Your clothes will be brought down in a second. Once you are in them, the guard outside will escort you to my office, where we will discuss your place here." I nodded as she walked out of the room. I had found a home.

Neji's Point Of View

"So what was that girl like Neji?" Tenten was up in my face again. I looked away, which basically told her "get the hell away from me". Not that I cared how I treated her, I was tired of her constant poking in by business. She sighed heavily and turned to the entryway of the forest's clearing. We were waiting for Lee to get here for training. It seemed he was so caught up in the Rebecca incident that he forgot about us. I didn't see why he was so interested in that girl. She was probably someone looking for an excuse to get into Kohana without paying taxes. It was obvious that if Tsunade granted her permission to stay, she wouldn't have a job to pay for her taxes, so they would be free until she could pay them. Then, once she had money, she would leave. _Maybe not though, _I thought. _Maybe she's really lost._ I pictured her in my mind again. Pale skin and pitch black hair. Beautiful blue eyes with flecks of silver. That was her, not very menacing, but her skills were lethal. Was she a formidable opponent? Was she a good fighter? These thoughts racked my brain for answers as an ANBU leaped out of the trees toward us.

"Tsunade would like to see you in her office. Both of you. Lee-san and Guy-senpai are already there." Tenten and I nodded as the ANBU leaped away back to where he came from. Tenten and I looked at each other and ran off, not wanting to be late to a meeting with Tsunade-sama.

Rebecca's Point Of View

I slipped on the clothes I found myself in when I got to this strange world, and walked out of the room. The same guard with the cat mask - an ANBU, if I remembered right – nodded to me and led me down a long hallway, straight to a red door. He nodded again when I pointed to it. I knocked and a woman with straight black hair answered the door. What caught my eye was that she was holding a pig in her hands. A pig with a pearl necklace.

Odd.

"Hello, I'm Shizune, Tsunade's assistant."

"Hi Shizune, nice to meet you." She smiled at me and motioned to walk forward. I saw Neji, Lee, a tall man that looked like Lee, and a girl standing around Tsunade, who was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room.

"Hey Rebecca-Chan!" I smiled at Lee, who waved at me with a grin on his face. I waved back, unsure of how to address the other people.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Rebecca, obviously, you have no money." I blushed, embarrassed by her directness to my predicament. "So…I will supply a home for you until you can pay for it. There are a few ways to get money here in Kohana, which are normal work and the work of a ninja. Now, Neji and Lee told me that you single handedly killed two enemy ninjas from another village that were pursuing them. Is that true?" I nodded. It had felt natural to kill them, like I was born to be a ninja.

"Well, I guess you're hired then!" said the tall Lee-look alike. "She can be mentored by my squad especially if you'd like Tsunade-sama." Tsunade nodded and smiled.

"And now for your living arrangements…" She rustled around her desk for a thin piece of paper that said 'land title' on it. She handed it to me, and handed me a bag of coins of silver and gold. "There's money for furniture, food, and clothing. Have fun." She smiled and Shizune escorted all of us from the Hokage's office.

"I'm Tenten. I hope we'll be great friends." The girl with buns in her hair, Tenten smiled sweetly at me. She didn't seem too bad.

"Ah…a new student to teach the ways of youth to! I, Might Guy, will teach you everything I know, and I will show you everything there is to know in Kohana!" My new teacher did something of a dance, and then posed. A picture of water splashing behind him popped up out of nowhere.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Just ignore him, Neji and I will teach you. Guy-Senpai and Lee-kun are worthless teachers."

I laughed and said, "Thanks, I appreciate that."

Tenten and I walked around Kohana, laughing and getting to know each other better. It was a lot of fun. Neji didn't come; he said he had some business to take care of. "That's just his way of saying, "I don't want to come…it seems like a girl thing." He does things like that, thrust me." Tenten had said, but I couldn't help but wonder if he had something against me.

After Tenten showed me all the main things in Kohana, we went out to buy furniture for my house, which was close to Tenten's. "What do you think of these curtains?" Tenten held up some blue and pink polka-dotted curtains. I rolled my eyes. "I'm supposed to be buying important things, like a fridge or a bed." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Oh please, with all the money Hokage-sama gave you, you'll be able to feed yourself for eight years without trouble. You can buy whatever you want really." She held up some purple curtains, with gold fringes. "Come on Rebecca, these are cheap." I smiled. "Okay…" Tenten jumped up and down happily and threw them into the cart.

As it turns out, I did have a lot of money. I bought lots of things to make my house a dream come true. I even painted murals on one wall of every room in the house. My house looked amazing. Tenten had brought over couple of people she wanted me to meet and had something of a welcome party for me. Some of the people I met were Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Hinata (Neji's cousin), and Shikamaru, who were all very nice and welcoming.

Now, three months later, I am a full-blown ninja. I go on missions with Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Guy all the time, and I even pay my own rent now (although, I would have liked Tsunade-sama to let me live there for free, I really can't).

Something I'm not very happy sharing though…I think I have a crush on Neji, my own team mate!


	4. Chapter 4 : Investigators on the Loose!

Rebecca's Point Of View

I held onto the branch as hard as I could. The wind coming out of Chouji's mouth was like a whirlwind.

My grip on the tree was slipping, and letting go was not an option with the ground so far away from me.

"Shimate…" I cursed quietly and slipped off the branch, the wind too great. I free-fell for about thirty seconds until someone's arms wrapped around my body and pulled me out of the fall, letting a huge sigh out of my throat.

"You don't have to commit suicide or anything. Jeez." Ah hell. How convenient Neji had to be in a pissy mood today.

"Well I'm sorry that I trust my team to catch me when I fall." I stuck my tongue out at him and crossed my arms. He smirked and stopped in the middle of the forest. _Slam_. He dropped me onto the ground without a notice and started to walk away.

"You asshole!" I yelled at him. He stopped, turned around, and turned on his byakugan. "What the hell? Pervert!"

"Shut up. There's someone here."

"Well duh, our team and – He walked over while I was talking and clamped my mouth shut with his hand.

"Someone OTHER than our team and Ino's team is here," he whispered. That's when I felt them. They were different from everyone in this world.

"They have the same weird chakra as Rebecca-Chan," Chouji said, jumping down next to us with Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, and Lee.

"Yeah." I turned to the direction the strangers were going to appear.

* * *

????'s Point of View

I sat across from the weeping woman and the stressed-looking father. They had a runaway daughter, whom I was hired to find.

"I…..I don't understand why she would possibly go…we took good care of her. School, iPod, friends, she had it all. She was happy."

"Ma'am, many things can drive a child to leaving a home. Were you two ever…fighting? That is the most likely case." The couple looked at each other with troubled looks on their faces.

"Mister Donovan, my wife is very upset. Could you just start your search now, please?" The man pinched his eyes into a strange looking glare. Obviously, I had hit it right in the bull's-eye. They probably fought until the girl couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, if I could just be giving something of the girl's, I could get this search started." The parents looked at each other again and nodded.

After the parents led me to the girl's room and handed me a sweater and her hairbrush, I headed out to the search team of Heffner, Scott, and Willis. They each had their dogs with them.

"Donovan, are you sure about this search? I mean, the girl's been gone for quite some time." Leave it to Heffner to be the doubting Thomas of the group.

"The dogs will be able to pick up the scent. It's in the grass, and we've got the girl's hairbrush. There is no way this 15 year old girl is able to escape the police, let alone us."

We let the dogs sniff the brush, and they found a trail almost instantly. We followed the trail for about 5 miles until her scent completely vanished.

"So the girl's scent ends entirely on the side of a highway? Sounds like either she found someone willing to take her to where she was going, or she was picked up by an unwanted ride."

"Don't talk like that Scott. You know we'd be able to find her scent if she got onto the road. Get the coast guard on this, there might have been high tide that night and she was stupid enough to go into the water for a dip." Willis got out his cell as Scott grumbled and started searching for another trail.

"Found her trail again sir. It leads to these plants, and then it's kind of hard to follow." I walked behind Heffner and started to walk through the strange plants. This search was probably going to be my last if I didn't find the girl. I needed this job if I wanted to be able to afford my costly apartment. The three men and their dogs followed me into the plants, then, I started seeing a forest. I lifted my head through the two blue and green plants that looked as if they were serving as gates and found myself in a whole new climate of trees and milder temperature. "What on Earth?"

"_Donovan? Donovan, where the hell are you?" _I picked up my walkie-talkie and put my mouth to the receiver.

"I'm in some…forest…can you guys see me?"

"_No Donovan, we can't see you. Are you pulling some practical joke or something?" _

I looked around. The tree behind me had a tiny leaf etched into the bark of the tree, and the grooves seemed to be painted in silver.

Suddenly, Heffner appeared right in front of me where the tree used to be. I backed away so he could get through. The tree appeared right as it had been before he came, sitting in the same spot it had been three seconds ago.

"Donovan, I think it has something to do with how much desire you want to go in for." Heffner nodded at the tree. He was wise for his age.

"_Donovan, we lost Heff too! Is he with you?"_

"Yes, Heffner is fine. Stay there, we are going to have a look around. Willis, get some officials out to look at this. One of you go out to meet them, but the other needs to stay right where you are. Do not even think about coming. It has something to do with desire if you want to come here."

"_Okay Donovan, whatever you say."_

I put the walkie-talkie back into it's holder on my waist and let Heffner out into the forest. I felt a great deal of wind blowing, and I was about to turn back, but I heard some people arguing. Heffner and I knelt in the bushes, looking at the two teenagers arguing.

"You don't have to commit suicide or anything. Jeez." A boy with long, black hair said to a girl he was carrying in his arms.

"Well I'm sorry that I trust my team to catch me when I fall." I couldn't see the girl who was talking, but I could see her dark hair falling out of the boy's arms. Suddenly, the boy dropped her onto the ground and started away from the girl toward us. "You asshole!" She yelled at him. She looked just like Rebecca, the girl I was trying to find. He stopped, turned and faced the girl. Suddenly, the girl yelled, "What the hell? Pervert!"

"Shut up. There's someone here." I gulped at the boy's sudden comment.

"Well duh, our team and – He walked over while she was talking and clamped her mouth shut with his hand.

"Someone OTHER than our team and Ino's team is here," he whispered. Heffner fidgeted beside me. This was not good.

"They have the same weird chakra as Rebecca-Chan," A fat boy said, jumping out of the trees with four others.

"Yeah." The girl turned in our direction, and I saw she really was Rebecca. Out of pure excitement that I had found her, I leaped out of the bushes.

"I found you, Rebecca Leah Harrison! I found you!" Heffner shot up next to me, with his electrical tazer in his hand.

* * *

Neji's Point Of View

Rebecca's eyes widened at the two men from her world that had appeared out of the bushes. I narrowed mine. One of them had something in his hand that looked rather dangerous.

"Lee," I whispered so only he could hear me, "I'm going to take Rebecca out of here as fast as possible. Do you think you can hold them off?" He nodded, and I sprinted over to Rebecca. I grabbed her by the arm, swung her onto my back, and sprinted off as fast as I possibly could. After we got about two miles away from them, I let her go, and she stepped down onto the ground.

"Who are they?"

"Probably, if I had to guess, people who my parents sent searching for me."

"WHAT? I thought you said your parents didn't care about you?"

"Well, wouldn't your parents be mad if you ran away? Wouldn't they have the slightest reason to want to reach out to you and find you?" Pain flowed through me as she made me think of my parents.

"My parents are dead." She widened her eyes, shocked. I hadn't told her because I didn't want my time spent with her to be depressing.

"Oh…I'm so sorry." She lowered her face. All I wanted then was to lift her chin up with my hand, but there was no time for that. I had to make the people leave so that they wouldn't take her away. I had so much to talk to her about.

"Look, it's not like it's your fault. Just tell me anything that might help us get them out of here." She nodded.

"You can do whatever you like to them, just don't kill them. I don't want innocent blood spilled." Darn. I would have liked to dispose of those two so they couldn't bother us anymore, but if she didn't want that, then so be it.

"Alright, we will think of something. Let's just get you to Kohana."

With that, we ran to Kohana straight to Tsunade's office. We told her what had happened and she sent out ANBU to capture them and send them to the prison in Kohana for questioning.

"It'll be okay Rebecca; we'll get rid of these pests for you." Tsunade winked at me and waved us off. Hopefully, they wouldn't find a way to get out.


	5. Chapter 5 : Curiosity Fractured My Wrist

Rebecca's Point Of View

I lay in my bed, praying to whoever might be above me. "Please, don't let them take me away. I love it here. Please!" I whispered the last part as quietly as I could so I wouldn't wake Neji, who was sleeping the next room over.

He had said that if the two men escaped, the first place they would look for me is my own home. He had put me in his house because you had to be known by one of the residents of the Hyuga mansion to be able to get in. Obviously, the two guys didn't know anyone besides, well, me.

When he had showed me my room, I hunted down Hinata so that she could tell me about Neji's parents. "They were marked as servants to the main household. He watched his own father die. He hated me and the main branch until he was finally beat in a match by Naruto." Say what now?

"Who's Naruto?"

She blushed. Obviously, she must have liked the boy. How cute.

"He left to train with Jiraya. He's been gone for almost a year now."

"Oh…"

"Anyway…Neji has the same marking his parents did on his forehead. He always covers it up though."

I jumped out of my bed, curiosity flowing through my body. I slid the door between our rooms, and then slid myself in between the small opening there.

Closing the door quietly, I tiptoed up to Neji's bedside.

He was tossing and turning in his sleep, obliviously not having a good dream. I reached for his forehead, trying to pull away the bandages that hid his marking thing Hinata told me about.

The second my hand barely even touched his forehead, his eyes flied open and he grabbed my wrist. He pulled it back, trying to break it. Obviously, he didn't know who I was. "Neji!" His hand immediately snapped off of mine and I fell back against the wall, clutching my wrist. It was fractured. "Rebecca? Holy shit, I….didn't know it was you." He knelt beside me and gently touched my arm; wanting to inspect the damage he had done. Holding back a whimper, I slowly handed him my folded hand, already bruising.

"Rebecca…I am so sorry, it was totally instinctive and I didn't mean to hurt you…" He seemed very sincere and very worried. "No, it's my fault. Now I know what they mean by curiosity killed the cat." I stifled a smile.

"What do you mean by that?" He started massaging my hand, a confused look on his face.

"Well, Hinata told me about your parents…and also about your marking on your forehead. I…wanted to see it for myself, but I didn't know how you would react to me asking you straight up." I looked down, focusing on his hands wrapped around mine.

He tensed up a bit, and pulled his hands off of mine. At first, I thought he was mad at me, but he took off the bandages from his head, letting them fall to the floor silently. As I looked up at the greenish marking, I saw his sad eyes in a far-away state. He He He was obviously ashamed of it.

It looked sort of like a swastika, but a little different, with curved hooks at the end instead of straight ones. I pulled myself up to get a closer look, and traced it lightly with my index finger of my good hand.

As I sat back down, curiosity filled, I saw Neji watching my every move, as if I was the only person in the world right now. It was only then that I noticed fully that he had no shirt on.

If I said he had muscle, I would be leaving you out on the full truth. He was ripped. A six pack of rock-hard abs, flat pecs, and his arms were all lean muscle.

It was rather distracting, which was not good due to the fact that he would label me as a freak if he caught me staring too much.

Remembering what my friend, Lauren had taught me about acting; I grimaced and looked down at my hand, making Neji get up. "I should take you to Tsunade." He turned around and walked into a closet adjacent to his bed. I sighed heavily, his body still playing in my mind like a broken tape recorder. So…hot. I hated to admit it, but Neji was hot, and I, as a girl, couldn't escape from that factor unscathed.

He walked out of the closet fully clothed, disappointingly enough.

As he motioned to pick me up, I saw guilt spread all over his face like paint on a canvas. "Dude, get over it, it's just my hand. I can walk too you know. I'm not bleeding this time." I could have sworn I saw a hint of a smile play across those lips of his, but I was probably just deranged from no sleep or something.

Neji's Point of View

The dream I was having was not a happy one. The two men from the forest the other day were talking to Rebecca, and she couldn't hear me, no matter what I screamed and yelled. She nodded, looked back, and, as if I were invisible, looked right at me, but didn't see me. Then, she left with them. I was waking up from the dream when I felt a hand touch my forehead. I reached out, grabbed the wrist, and started to break it, instinct taking over my body.

"Neji!" Rebecca's voice. I snapped my hand back to my side, and Rebecca fell against the wall, a pained look on her face.

_No…I…hurt her!_ I heard words fly out of my mouth, but I couldn't hear them. The pain on her face was unbearable to look at, but my guilt made me not look away.I rushed to her side, worried that I actually broke it. I softly tapped her shoulder, and she put her hand on my open one. I had fractured it. Not as bad as a break, but I had still hurt her. Dark purple was blooming around the bend of the hand. Bruises. _Neji, you idiot!_ My inner voice screamed at me in disbelief. Had _I _really done that?!

"Rebecca…I am so sorry, it was totally instinctive and I didn't mean to hurt you…" She had an understanding look on her face. "No, it's my fault. Now I know what they mean by curiosity killed the cat." A very fake smile played itself onto her face, contradicting her eyes full of pain. Curiosity? For what exactly?

"What do you mean?" I started massaging her hands, something my mother used to do to me when I was a child.

"Well, Hinata told me about your parents…and also about your marking on your forehead. I…wanted to see it for myself, but I didn't know how you would react to me asking you straight up." She looked down, a small blush spreading across her pale cheeks. I almost missed it, but my eyes were exceptionally good. Smiling sadly, I brought my hands to the bandages on my forehead and untied them, letting them fall to the carpet floor.

As she looked at the very thing that made me a disgrace in my own father's name, I looked at her, seeing her more closely. Sure, I had been with her before, but never alone. Her dark, raven black hair fell a fair way below her shoulders, and her eyes, a deep blue had specks of silver in it. She was beautiful, and I mentally kicked myself for having treated her so badly her first days here. Then, I just wanted her to be gone. But now, if she left, I would have to hunt her down and bring her back here myself. Her finger lightly outlined the cross-symbol on my head of the gentlest movements I had ever felt. I barely noticed that she sat back down, because I was completely mesmerized by her. I had the urge to take her up into my arms and confess to her, but she grimaced in pain at her hand, which I had caused. I would probably look like an idiot if I did that AFTER I hurt her, so I got up and said something about Tsunade. Words were flying out of my mouth on their own accord; I was too distracted by trying to pull myself together. I had never fallen for someone so…deeply. It was as if she was the center of my world now.

I walked into my closet and put a shirt on in a daze. This was just about the worst thing I had done in a long time, close behind nearly killing Hinata in the Chunin Exams.

When I tried to pick her up, she refused, reminding me of her stubbornness that I loved so much. "Dude, get over it, it's just my hand. I can walk too you know. I'm not bleeding this time." I smiled, reminded of our first meeting.

Yes, I was definitely in love with her.


	6. Chapter 6 : Lauren!

Tsunade's Point of View

I stepped into the waiting room extremely tired. "Who in hell's name fractured their wrist at three in the goddamn morning?!" I hadn't bothered to look at who it was, because I seemed more intimidating when I yelled at them. If I knew who it was, I probably wouldn't have yelled.

Surprising me to where I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming, Rebecca and Neji were the only ones sitting on the couches. I looked down at my clipboard again. Rebecca Harrison. "What happened?" Rebecca looked straight ahead confidently, but Neji glanced at her for half a second, worry shining in his eyes. "Tsunade, as you know, to stay away from my pursuers, I was staying at the Hyuga mansion, and I did not know the layout of that house." She trailed off, thinking. Obviously, she was making things up as she went on. "I stepped out of my room to get something to drink, and as I was making my way back, I ran into Neji, who had gone into my room to check on me, but saw I was not there. Thinking that the men from my world had broken in, he started looking around the hallways to catch them. He ran into me, and thinking I was a criminal," her hands stopped quivering, "he attempted to break my wrist. I told him it was me, but it ended up being fractured." I nodded. The first part of the story, the whole "going around the halls" thing was a total lie. First of all, because he would be using his byakugan the whole time, and second because her hands were quivering, telling me she was lying. I ignored it. It was not my business how it was broken if it wasn't by an enemy.

After I had healed up the wound as best I could, I left her in the room to get used to her cast-type thing on her arm. It would have to stay there for a couple of days until the wound was fully healed. I pulled Neji aside to my office.

"Neji, we can't hold the men in jail forever you know."

"Why can't we Tsunade, they don't belong here."

"Neither does Rebecca, and you don't seem to have a problem with her. Or was that fracture intentional?" Neji seemed completely taken back by this proposal.

"No Hokage-sama. I have no problem with Rebecca what so ever." I smiled. He was very quick to answer. _He obviously feels for her deeply. _The great Neji Hyuga, who is usually not one to show emotion, is in _love_? I decided I would push him forward as much as possible.

"The elders and I have decided. We think we are going to send Rebecca back with the men." The look on his face was absolutely priceless. Horror and dismay spread across his face.

"No…you can't! She hates it there! Her father beat her! You can't send her back to them!" I rolled my eyes. "Neji, if they hate her so much, why did they send a search team to come and find her?"

"They probably just don't want to look bad in society, they live in a big city and there would be controversy if their child ran away from them." The last part came out of his voice nearly shouting. He had practically hissed the words at me. Obviously, he didn't like that idea.

"Please Hokage-sama, don't send her away." He bowed deeply, his voice a low whisper that I could only hear. The boy was undeniably in love with Rebecca.

"…Very well." I could practically hear the relief rush through his body. "But, I can't hold innocent people in prison. I'll have to have the two men's memory erased. I'll find out how they got here through torture if you'd like." He smirked. "Thank you Tsunade-sama, I greatly appreciate this. I'm sure Rebecca values your decision as much as I do." He bowed deeply again, then left the room.

I leaned back in my chair laughing to myself. I had to make this to entertain me. This could get very fun.

* * *

Willis' Point of View

I sat in front of Lauren Black, interrogation not going so well. "I can't believe she left without saying so much as goodbye. She didn't even take me with her!" "Miss Black, I need your full attention here please." The young, blonde girl rolled her eyes and spun around in her computer chair. "What's there to listen to? I already told you, I have no idea where she went, and I have no idea about some "magic portal". Seriously dude, the best you could do is taking me there so I can bring her back myself. Two creepy strangers are not going to bring Rebecca back." She blew a bubble of pink gum and I considered taking her down there. What's the worst that could possibly happen?

* * *

Lauren's Point of View

Yes, the goon fell for it. What a fucking retard. I laughed internally at the guard. The second they told me how to get in, I was going to make a run for it. Hell, if Rebecca could bust herself out of this joint, then so could I. I would just find her, then tell her I was staying with her whether she could tolerate me or not.

The fat-ass showed me the little "entrance point" (as he said) and I nodded. If I had to want to go in, I was sure as hell going to go in. I stepped through, then noticing I had made it through into some woods, threw the walkie talkie they had handed me into a near stream. "See ya never biotch." I walked into the woods, not knowing what to expect.

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

_Knock knock. _I rose quickly from my seat. "Come in." In stepped Neji, looking like he was holding back a huge emotion. "How are you feeling?" He had sat down next to me, glancing down at my hand, but looking into my eyes intently. "Good, actually. It feels like it never happened." I smiled at him. "Look Rebecca, I really am very sorry. Honestly, I am." I chuckled. "Jeez, your apologizing like you killed my mother or something. Seriously, I'm fine." He tried to hold back a smile at my joke, but couldn't. He seemed very…giddy, oddly enough for him. "Well, you've been dispatched, so since it's about…" he looked at the clock on the wall, "…almost six, how about we get some breakfast?" He smiled again. "Okay, sounds good to me." As I stood, Neji supported me up by holding the small of my back. "Thanks, but I do have one hand I can use." As I turned away from him, I nearly ran into a wall. Nearly. Blushing, I turned back around to see Neji trying his best not to laugh. "Are you sure you're not deranged or something?" He laughed as he talked, obviously amused by my clumsiness. Red spread across my cheeks even darker. "I'm fine thanks. I don't need your help."

As I walked to the door, there was a knock on it. Before I could say come in, Shikamaru walked in with an annoyed look on his face. "Does she belong to you Rebecca?" He dragged into the room a blonde, frantic looking person who looked up at me with deep green eyes. "Rebecca? Where the hell AM I?!?!" She yelled the last part, practically screaming. I had to think a while to recognize who it really was. She looked like she was deranged, but it was still her.

"..L..Lauren?!" Shikamaru's eyes widened and he dropped her, and she ran over to me and engulfed me into a huge bear hug. "Oh God Rebecca, these people are freaks or something. One of them turned into a ball of rolling flesh!" Apparently she had met Shikamaru's team.

"We were patrolling, and then we found her yelling out your name. We thought she was one of those…detective things." I nodded at Shikamaru. "Thanks for bringing her here Shikamaru. I think she's just in shock. She doesn't take things as well as I do when it comes to…uh…chakra type things." He nodded to me and Neji, then left.

I looked down to see Lauren crying into my shirt. I patted her head, trying to calm her down. "Lauren, it's okay, you're with me now. They are my friends. They wouldn't have hurt you. Otherwise, I would have probably killed them. You know that." She nodded, and then wiped her tears. "I'm sorry, I'm-" I knew what she was about to say, so I covered her mouth and pointed to Neji. "Oh…my bad." She scratched her head, smiling. Neji just looked plain confused. "Don't worry about it Neji, it's nothing. I'm gonna take her to my apartment." He stepped to follow me, but I shook my head. "Those guys are in jail. Seriously, I'll be fine on my own." I smiled at him, and then walked out the door. I could have sworn I heard him say "come back safe", but that wasn't possible.

"Two questions, who is that and how did you know I was going to say that I was PMSing?" "Lauren, you're my best friend. I know you too well. Also, that guy in there was Neji. He's…a friend too." She looked at me for a minute, and then giggled. "Ooh, Rebecca, you like him!" I rolled my eyes, surprised she had found out that fast. "No I don't." "Yes you do, and you are totally lying. You can't get past me. Oh my gosh, I am so going to hook you two up!" As she babbled about plans to get me and Neji together, I smiled. It was good having Lauren here. I'm sure she wasn't going to leave unless I did either.


	7. Chapter 7 : Pool Party and Ibiki's Fire

Donovan's Point of View

We were walking to a cell, lead by some strange people with cat masks. After the boy had taken Rebecca away, we were attacked by the other teenagers. Heffner had gotten some of the kids, but we ended up getting captured. Now, after a day and a half of confinement, they were going to torture us to get information out of us. They wanted to know how we got here. I wasn't going to let these crazy, dangerous people into The United States if it killed me.

A fairly scarred man named Ibiki was tying our hands behind our backs. He was the torture man.

"Now I assure you, Mr. Donovan, we are not going to do anything with the information you give us but send you and your friend back home. We are going to destroy the barrier so that you can never come here again."

I didn't believe a word he said, so I clamped my mouth shut. I wasn't going to give in. Ever. I would serve my county well.

The man made some hand gestures and then I was sent into a burning building. My greatest fear was always to be burnt alive. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Just please, please don't burn me!" I told him everything I knew when the cell came back into view. After I finished, the man smiled at me.

"Thank you for your information." He made more gestures, and then my world went black.

Neji's Point of View

"AH! Get off me you bitch!" I put my drink down softly and turned around. Lauren, Rebecca's rather rude friend, had decided to put on a pool party for Tenten's birthday…at the Hyuga Mansion. Of course, my uncle had automatically said yes when Rebecca, Lauren, and Hinata had gotten together and in one attempt knocked him over with a simple "please?". I honestly don't understand how he could fall for them, but I guess he knew it would be a wild party, because he left me in charge and went on a "mission." Yeah, sure. We all know he's too busy handling his clan. He's probably just sitting in his room reading porn or something. So, here I was, having to deal with Lauren's loud screams. Which are totally unnecessary.

"Neji, why don't you come in?" Rebecca had swum up to the side of the pool while Tenten and Lauren wrestled. Hinata was trying to pry them apart unsuccessfully. I coated my response in sarcasm. "As nice as that sounds, I'd rather stick pins in my eyes while watching paint dry." Honestly, I wouldn't mind just Nanami, but her idiot friends were her too.

"Really, am I really that bad?" She cocked her head to the side, as if looking at an experiment. I looked briefly at the gauze wrapped around her wrist. It was healing well, but guilt was still covering me like a wet wool blanket.

"It's not you, it's you friend that is giving me a migraine." She smiled and glanced at Lauren.

"Sorry you're having a migraine. I'll be sure to drown Lauren for you." Sarcasm and hurt edged the last sentence. Looks like it's not a good idea to complain about the best friend of the person you're head over heels for. Before I could apologize, she darted through the water, directly at Lauren. Though the refraction made it hard to see what was going on, I knew that Rebecca had grabbed Lauren's legs and dragged her down. Lauren screamed as she was pulled into the water. She sounded like a banshee.

"I didn't realize that you had the ability to laugh Neji. Or do you just enjoy my pain and suffering?" Lauren had come up to the side of the pool, her hair drenched. She hadn't wanted to get it wet, or so she said. I really didn't understand that. Why were girls so anal about that? Well, I guess it was only the stuck up ones like Lauren, because Rebecca certainly didn't care.

I scoffed. I was itching to insult her, but I knew that Rebecca would over hear.

"What's wrong Neji, don't want to get in?" When she said 'in', she grabbed my ankle and dragged me toward the pool. I pulled my ankle back, but her grip was rock hard. I hadn't noticed Tenten getting out of the pool. She was behind me, and pushed me in as Lauren pulled at my ankle.

Water rushed around me as I slid into the pool. I had changed into my swimsuit, knowing Lauren would try something like this. She seemed to hate me or something.

As I surfaced, I exhaled sharply and flung my hair out of my face. Rebecca rolled her eyes at Lauren and Tenten, who were laughing uncontrollably. She waded through the water toward me.

"You okay?" I nodded. I told her I had planned for an attack, and she laughed. As she went over to scold her giggling friends, I made my way over to the side of the pool. Hinata had gone inside to get some towels for me, and when she tried to hand one to me, I thanked her, but shook my head. Might as well stay in once I was in. I hopped onto the ledge near the chairs and took off my wet button-down shirt. It was thin and white, so it hung to my body. No point in keeping it on if you could see through it anyway. I tossed it onto an empty chair, and then swam back to the middle of the pool next to Rebecca. Tenten was holding Lauren bridal style, and would occasionally dunk her head into the water if she said something.

"It's a game we play in Corpus. One person comes up with a category and something in that category, and the other person has to guess it. Lauren's trying to guess something that is a vegetable." I nodded. It seemed like a fairly simple game.

"So if you get it wrong, your head gets dunked in the water. What happens if you get it right?" Suddenly, Tenten flipped Lauren over into the water. Lauren darted to the top, laughing.

"Get it?" Rebecca looked up at me expectantly.

"Sure. May I?" I held out my arms like Tenten had. Rebecca smiled and slid into my arms.

"Category?" She asked me. I thought for a minute. What kind of category would be good? Then, I remembered that they were going to watch a marathon of an anime tonight that I had seen before.

"How about characters from Bleach?" I asked. She looked up at me with wide eyes.

"You watch Bleach?" Was she really that surprised?

"Just because I'm serious doesn't mean I don't watch anime." She smiled at my comment.

"Only do the captains." She nodded to herself, as if reassuring herself. Odd.

"Okay." I thought for a minute. I thought of the perfect person. Someone she would never guess. Komamura-Taichou. The dog looking one.

"Here goes nothing. Toshiro?" I dipped her head all the way into the water.

"Soi Fon?" Again, I dunked her head into the water. It took her eleven guesses to get it right.

"Komamura?" I flipped her over, and she swam with ease back to the surface.

"That's not nice. You're supposed to do someone obvious." I rolled my eyes at her comment.

"Is that because you don't want to get dunked in the pool a bunch of times?" She scoffed and turned away from me.

"Rebecca…" Was she mad at me? I stepped toward her, and then put my hand on her shoulder. Out of no where, she turned around and pushed me into the water, then swam away at high speed.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play, let's play cat and mouse." I sped after her. I chased her around the pool for a good five minutes until I finally caught her. She was laughing and joking around, saying she needed help and yelling rape when I grabbed her shoulders to stop her from moving around. By now, Tenten, Lauren, and Hinata had gone inside and were watching some of the marathon.

"Let go of me you raper." She laughed and tried to squirm out of my grasp. I laughed in return and held her still.

"Don't call me that." She blinked, and said, "Am I offending you, your highness?" I rolled my eyes.

"Is it such a crime not wanting to be a rapist?" She laughed again. "No, I just think you need to let go of me so I can watch Bleach."

I smiled and let go of her arm. She got out of the water, dripping, and wrapped a towel around her body. She was beautiful, standing there in the sunset, hair wet, and eyes extremely blue. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're staring at me." I rolled my eyes at her obvious statement.

"You're imagining things again." I saw pain flicker across her face for a half a second.

"I'm gonna go inside. You gonna watch Bleach with us?" As much as I wanted to spend more time with Rebecca, I didn't want to keep her all to myself. She had other friends.

"Nah, I'm gonna go to sleep. All this chasing you around has made me tired. I'm also probably going to be woken up in the middle of the night by giggling girls, so I might as well get as much sleep as I can in before then." She nodded, but I could have sworn I saw disappointment flicker across her face.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Good night then." She smiled and waved at me, then entered the house.

"Good night love."


	8. Chapter 8 : Lauren's Painful Plan

Rebecca's Point of View

When I walked into the living room, Tenten, Hinata, and Lauren all gazed up at me expectantly.

"What? Was I supposed to bring the ice cream or something?" I looked at the curious faces before me, eyes of brown, lavender, and jade green staring intently at me.

"Why'd you stay out so long?" Lauren cocked an eyebrow at me, something I had never been able to do. I mustered all the possible excuses I could then drew one randomly.

"I didn't want to come in. I like swimming you know, and I didn't know that the Hyuga Mansion had a pool. I never expected that they had pools here…" Now I was just yammering on, rather pink at the cheeks. They weren't buying it. I didn't blame them.

"And I'm just sure that Neji was just being kind staying out there with you huh?" Tenten was having trouble concealing her smug little grin. I sat down, defeated.

"What episode are you watching?" Lauren rolled her eyes at my question, knowing I was changing the subject. She didn't probe though.

"The one where Renji first comes in." Her eyes glittered in an annoying way. It was obvious she was obsessed with him.

"And the one where he fails at trying to kill Ichigo huh?" I smiled at my quick remark, knowing it would set her off.

"You know what? While you were off flirting with Mr. NoFeelingsAtAll, we already watched plenty of episodes. We're going to play Truth or Dare now. You in?"

I felt my nose twitch up involuntarily. "Fine." We sat in a circle, Lauren and I across from each other. We were glaring at each other with murderous looks. Tenten and Hinata were looking at us uncomfortably.

"Rebecca's first." She raised her eyebrow. After much pondering on my strategy, I made a very good decision on my part. Lauren would fall for it easily.

"Lauren, T or D?" I cocked my head to the side, beckoning her to make a stupid choice.

"Dare." I laughed at her internally. What an idiot she was.

"I dare you to make the rules so that you can't switch to the opposite choice, otherwise the game ends and you lose." She smiled, too stupid to understand what I was doing. "Fine, rules are what Rebecca said," she replied. It was Tenten's turn.

I didn't even listen to her. The question wasn't for me anyway. It was for Hinata. Obviously, they were staying out of Lauren and my way.

Smart of them.

Lauren asked me a dangerous question that I fired back at with a very witty remark if I do say so myself. She asked me what I was doing in the pool. Ha. I laugh at her general question. "Swimming Sherlock Holmes, wasn't it obvious? I was in a pool, duh."

She wasn't too happy about my snide answer. I enjoyed seeing her face scrunch together though. It was very amusing.

I didn't even realize Hinata had gone and it was my turn again.

"Lauren, truth or dare?" As I predicted, she replied curtly, dare.

"I dare you to put duct tape over your mouth, and then continue the game pantomiming everything you want to say." I smiled while I said my evil dare. That would shut her up about me and Neji. She was never good a charades. I can't quite tell you what her facial expression was like, but I'm sure you would have laughed at it in even the grimmest of situations. Because of the new rule that she so valiantly put out, she either backed us all the way out of the game, or went along, falling into a deep, dark hole of plotting. Of course, she chose to fall into that hole, her pride dragging its way down like a faulty parachute.

After Lauren's mouth was secure, I gladly told Tenten it was her turn.

Let's just say she was frightened by my evil plotting. Good thing she was smart enough to understand what I was doing. Pity Lauren didn't have that wit.

Lauren's turn came with strange hand gestures until finally she just called it quits by making an "X" with her fingers. When I asked if the game was over, she shook her head violently.

Hinata went against Tenten, and then I released my plan.

"Lauren dearest, would you like that off of your mouth?" She nodded violently. "Truth or Dare then, and I would pick dare if you want that off of you." She raised her eyebrow for one quick second, but let it go. She had to talk, otherwise she would go insane. She made "D" with her fingers, so I replied nonchalantly,

"Let Neji rip the duct tape off of your mouth how ever slow or fast he wants." Her eyes widened. She knew as well as everyone that Neji wanted to harm her after her little stunt today at the pool. You could see it plastered all over his face, but he was a gentleman enough to not punch her right in the face. If she wanted it though…well, that was a different story. This would either end the game or leave me with some enjoyment. It was a win-win situation. On my side that is.

After much thinking on Lauren's part, she finally nodded, wincing as she did it. I smiled and got up, walking to Neji's room. I knocked on the door when I got there.

"Come in," was the short reply I got from the room. When I opened the door, I saw Neji lying on his bed (with no shirt on), playing a Nintendo DS. I had given everyone close to me one for their birthdays, with lots of games to go along with them. My dad had worked at the factory, and he brought the broken ones home for some reason. I had found a guy that could fix them, and Lauren and I "convinced" him (with bloody knuckles and hard kicks) to fix them up. I had them in my backpack to sell when I got to Maria's house…but now I had them here with nothing to do with them, so I gave them out. I still had mine though. The Wifi still worked too, surprisingly.

"Whatcha playin?" I leaned over him, looking into the screen. A small, Neji-looking person was talking to an elephant.

"Animal Crossing, and why are you in here? Are the other girls asleep?" I frowned. "What, are you going to rape them or something?" He smiled. "No, they're all ugly." I laughed.

"I have something you might enjoy doing though. I know you're mad at Lauren, so she was wondering if you could rip some duct tape off of her mouth…as fast or as slow as you want." He was slow to look up at me, but a glimmer in his pale eyes told me that he had liked the sound of my proposition.

When we walked back into the room, Tenten was huddled over Lauren, telling her it was going to be okay. I saw that the tips of Lauren's ears were rather red, meaning she was not a happy camper. "You might want to back away after you rip off the tape," I said to Neji, who nodded silently.

He walked up to Lauren, grabbed a corner sticking up, and started pulling slowly. After I thought he was being soft on her, he jerked the tape off her mouth very hard, and then stepped behind me. She made a slight whimpering sound, and held her mouth in her hand.

"Are you okay?" I realized I hadn't enjoyed that as much as I thought I would. She was my best friend. Seeing her hurt like that wasn't really tasteful.

"Yeah, just fine." Her eyes were tearing up, contradicting her statement.

"Rebecca, truth or dare?" I spun my head around and looked at Tenten, who had her eyebrows raised. Odd.

"Dare?" Whatever, I had gotten plenty of fun. I'll let Tenten have some fun too.

"I dare you to ask Neji to join the game." I shrugged and looked up at him. He shrugged in response, said "Why not," and sat down in between me and Tenten.

Lauren's turn was up next, and I figured she was going to take out her anger on me.

Her revenge wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, if you could even call it revenge.

"Neji, truth or dare?" She cocked her head to the side. He rolled his eyes and picked dare. His pride was obviously making him pick dare.

"I dare you to kiss Rebecca." She smiled. I blinked in confusion. What did she just say? I felt Neji pull me close to him and his lips touched mine. They were soft, gentle, as if I was a porcelain doll. It totally caught me off guard.

When he pulled away, he looked down to his phone, which was playing the song "Camisado" by Panic at the Disco, his ringtone. He got up and walked out of the room, opening his phone and started talking into it.

Lauren had a triumphant look on her face. I was crestfallen. One moment Neji was kissing me, and the next he was walking off without a word. How messed up was that?

Very, that's how much.

Before Lauren could say anything else, I went and laid down on one of the guest beds in the room. I got out my iPod, and put the earphones in my ears before Lauren could start chattering about her victory. I didn't care. I was pretty ticked off anyway.

The song I fell asleep to was "Lessons in New Jersey" by Meg & Dia.

_Don't you ever play what you feel inside  
No baby I ain't got the time to figure out  
what makes you smile or makes you tend to lie………_

* * *

Haha! Do you like this one? I sure do! Okay, so I have a friend named Lauren in real life and she is my best friend ever! (I hope she doesn't get mad that I totally was mean about her in this chapter....oh well! By the way, if you are a fan of Jacob in Twilight, I have an amazing story for you to read!! This is the username - amberhathaway - and she's really good. Please support her!

Also on my to do list, I need to mention my great fans of this here story! Thanks to _Xin Juu, avid-reader21, kittycat5261, AngelTenshi-chan _for the reccomendation for a Toshiro story, and of course, my #1 fan (even though she won't admit it) _amberhathaway_! Thanks to all of you for bearing with me. (I know, I'm slow. Sorry!)

Another thing, I have mentioned some things in this chapter that some people may not be accostomed to. First is Bleach, an AMAZING anime that I'm totally in love with. Please watch it if you already aren't. It's great. Second thing is Nintendo DS, and the game I mentioned, Animal Crossing. It's a fun game, and it'll play into the next chapter. So hopefully, you'll do some research or something. Third is Panic at the Disco. You might have heard of them, but you might not have heard the song "Camisado". It's my favorite song by them, so I hope you'll go and listen to it. Fourth is Meg & Dia, my favorite band on the face of the planet. Seriously, I'm obsessed. Ask Lauren. They're AMAZING. Please listen to them. You'll like it.

And a good Toshiro story for you guys, _Jibun no Omoi _is the author. If you can't find the author on , then Google it and it'll find their page for you. (Google is a gift from God, like, no kidding.)

Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry I wrote so much at the end! _"


	9. Chapter 9 : Hope This Isn't A Dream

Tsunade's Point of View

Three of the ANBU with me dropped the two men on the ground. We were in Rebecca's old world. "Their memories are erased?" "Everything about Lauren or Rebecca is gone." I smiled. "Perfect."

"Donovan! Heff!" I turned around to see two men running toward us. "What did you do to them?" I looked at the ANBU, who captured them with ease and knocked them unconscious.

"Erase their memories too. They'll never bother us again."

* * *

Donovan's Point of View

I woke up in a hospital bed, with Willis and Scott looking down at me. "Sir, you're awake!"

"Apparently so." I sat up and saw Heffner lying on a bed across from mine. "What happened?"

"We don't know sir, the doctors told us our memories of the last month may not come back. None of us know what happened. Last thing I remember is waking up one morning and having a cup of coffee." Willis scratched his chin. I didn't remember anything.

"The doc told us just to go back home. We're all okay. Heffner's just sleeping." I nodded. Looks like we were all okay.

* * *

Neji's Point of View

"You are one narcissistic bastard you know that?" I didn't have to turn around to know Lauren was standing in my doorway. I ignored her. It was her fault I was in that situation.

"Oh my God. You really didn't see it?" I turned around, wondering what she meant.

"She was in love with you, you idiot." She rolled her eyes at me.

"You have no idea, and then you just walked out of there without so much as a word. You really are a son of a bitch you know that? Now she's lying on a bed, refusing to talk to anyone. I, her best friend, haven't even seen her like this, ever." My head was bent, and I was looking at my phone. The phone that didn't really go off. I had just turned the ringtone on. I really was a bastard.

"You had better make this right. If she's not happy by the morning, I'm going to sew you lips shut." With that, she flounced out of the room with a dramatic air. Bitch.

I sighed, and then walked into the hallway and gazed into the room the girls were staying in. Lauren was packing her things. She whispered, "I'm going to be back by morning, but you'd better fix things with her. Make sure the only people that know I'm gone is you and Rebecca." I nodded, finding it strange that she actually trusted me.

Before she left, she punched my arm, pointed with vigor at Rebecca, and then left silently. I didn't think much about where she was going, and I didn't really care. I knew Rebecca would, but I would just tell her what I knew.

I walked to Rebecca's bedside, avoiding Tenten and Hinata's sleeping forms. I brushed a strand of hair from Rebecca's face, which was sticking to her face from the moistness on her cheeks. She had been crying. I was one superficial bastard to have done that.

She stirred in her sleep, and her eyes began to open. When she saw me, her eyes filled with more tears, and she turned over, her back facing me.

"Rebecca…" I whispered, not wanting to wake up Tenten and Hinata.

"Just…leave me alone. Please." I stoked her hair softly, but got up. She was already mad enough.

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

I couldn't go back to sleep after Neji had left. He had a worried look in his eyes, and I had just told him to leave. I was still mad at him. That wouldn't change.

My phone vibrated, I had a text message from an unknown number. It said, "Open your gates in Animal Crossing." Sighing, knowing who it was, but I couldn't go to sleep, soI did it, and was quickly noted that a visitor was coming to my town. I never saw who it was, because I was walking out to the porch so I wouldn't wake up Tenten and Hinata with the light.

A message popped up on my screen. _What's wrong?_

I replied, _I know it's you Neji, I'm not an idiot._

_I'm sorry. I was being a superficial bastard._

_Nice vocabulary._

I heard a small chuckle and felt strong arms wrap around my body from behind. He rested his head on my shoulder.

"Not in the mood Neji." I pulled away, and he let me go. I faced him. His eyes were sad and caring. He reached out to me and wiped wet tears from my face. I hadn't even realized that I was crying. I chuckled at myself. I had never been one to cry. Ever. Especially about a guy.

"Rebecca, I really am sorry. I just didn't want Lauren to get what she wanted."

"So you didn't want to kiss me then huh?"

"No. Rebecca…I love you. I've been in love with you for a while now." My eyes widened. No wonder Lauren always said I was blind. I guess I was.

"Well, it's good for you that I'm hopelessly in love with you too then." He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around me again. He stroked my hair gently.

"Why do you treat me like I'm made of porcelain?" He looked at me, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"You're so gentle with me like I'll break if you so much as grab my arm or something." He smiled and then crashed his lips into me harshly, taking me by surprise that I dropped my DS out of my hand. The kiss was rugged but sweet, a combination that was a contradiction. (Try saying that five times fast!) Obviously, I kissed back with (almost) as much vigor.

When he pulled away from me, I nearly fell over it was so random. I was in his arms though, so I basically just leaned back rather clumsily.

"That's why I'm gentle." He winked at me, then let go of me. He stroked my cheek, and then said, "You should get some sleep." I rolled my eyes, but I knew I was tired. When I tried walking, I nearly fell over from exhaustion, but Neji caught me.

Again.

I needed to work on my coordination if I didn't want to be porcelain all the time.

"Okay, I'll sleep."

"Good. Don't want Lauren to find you a zombie in the morning."

That's when I realized she hadn't been in the room when I left. "Where is she?"

"She went…somewhere. She didn't tell me where. She'll be back by morning." I shook my head and bent down to get my DS from the floor where it had fallen. She'll be explaining a lot when she gets back, that's for sure.

After I settled down in my bed and Neji kissed me goodnight, sleep welcomed me in open arms. I had a comfortable, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The morning sun shown through the windows, warming my face and peeling open my eyes from sleep. I couldn't quite remember if last night's happenings were real, or just a far-off dream. I sighed lightly, and saw Lauren sleeping on a bed across the room from mine. She looked exhausted.

I walked into the kitchen, getting ready to cook breakfast for Tenten and Hinata, who were still asleep. If Lauren was up all night long, the first meal she would be having would be lunch. Or dinner. Didn't really matter though.

Sitting in a chair, reading a book while drinking hot tea, was a (shirtless! [I really need to stop freaking out about that…]) Neji. "Good morning," I grumbled, annoyed by my own weakness to abdominal muscles. (Odd phrase that one…)

"Morning beautiful." He peered up at me with those lavender eyes over his tea cup, his eyes smiling in a way.

Well, that certainly wasn't a dream.

"So, are you going to tell Lauren what happened last night, or are you going to let my mouth get sewn shut?" He smiled, and then added, "I hope your answer to that question is the former, because if my mouth was sewn shut, I wouldn't be able to kiss you."

I rolled my eyes. "You better not get all sappy on me." He frowned, and then murmured, "But I like my lips. I don't want them to be sewn." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. He turned his head around to kiss me.

"Whoa, am I interrupting something here?" I jumped up, startled by Tenten's random approach. She was grinning very widely.

"Yes Tenten, you were, now get out of my house." Neji was frowning, but he was just mocking her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't know how you fell for him Rebecca. I really don't know."

* * *

**Alright, I'm really liking how this is going! Thanks to **skatergirl1880**, **shinobi89**,** reconix**, and to Lauren, for not killing me when I tortured her character. _Thanks dude, I really love living! _**

**Hope you keep reading! **

**Hope you review!**

**Hope you acknowledge that you're reading my story, cause that would meen my confidence could grow!**

**=D**


	10. Chapter 10 : Assignment? How fancy!

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

"Good morning." Lauren, who looked like she had been run over by a bus…and an SUV, trudged through the door into the kitchen, hair sticking up in every way possible.

"More like good afternoon, I'm about to make lunch. Where were you all night?"

Her cheeks brightened slightly, the first I had seen them do in the three weeks she had been here. I knew this was about a guy.

"Who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning with you this time?"

She folded her arms. "No one that matters to you…" She tried to slip away, but she had just woken up, so I got to the door faster.

"Was it Kiba?" She gasped and said, "That mutt boy smells too bad to be with me! And besides, I want to hear about your night." She tried to change the topic. Nice try, but I didn't just wake up like her.

"Who was it?"

"No one."

"Who?"

"No one."

"Who?"

"No one."

"Were you safe?" Her eyes widened at my question.

"I wouldn't do it with Shikamaru after only dating him for three weeks!!!" She slapped her hand to her mouth after she said it, astonished that she had fallen for that trick. Oldest one in the book Lauren. Jeeze.

Whatever the book is.

"I didn't…no, that's not what I meant. I am not dating Shikamaru. I promise." She smiled her cheesy smile, but I wasn't fooled. She was so busted.

"So you didn't tell me about Shikamaru and yet I told you about me liking Neji huh? Some friend you are."

"Okay, so I was. But, I didn't have sex with him. I'm not that much of a whore." I rolled my eyes and grabbed the boiling water from the stove.

"Do you believe me Rebecca?"

I looked up at her over the kettle, and saw light green eyes peering at me, full of hope. I sighed.

"Yes, I believe you." She sighed gratefully, putting her hand over her heart.

"Do you want ramen? I might as well make some since Tenten and Hinata are going to get hungry soon." She nodded, and then leaned on the counter, facing me.

"So…what happened last night? Will I have to sew someone's mouth shut?" I grinned.

"I never realized that Neji was so attached to his lips. He was so freaked when I said I might not tell you." She laughed with me, and then added, "So you two are dating now I assume?" I blushed slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

As soon as I said that, Neji walked into the door. "I heard the words 'sew' and 'dating'. Does that mean I go unharmed here?" I smiled.

"Your lips are free to do as they please," Lauren said.

"Then the first thing on my list is…" He leaned down and kissed me, making Lauren make gagging sounds.

"Get a freaking room."

"It's my house." Neji replied, in between our kiss.

I heard Lauren mutter something as she left the room.

"What'd she say?" I looked up at him.

"That she shouldn't have gotten us together in the first place."

I rolled my eyes. She wasn't going to get away with that. I put my head into the living room where Tenten, Hinata, and Lauren were sitting.

"Next time you're over at Shikamaru's, use a goddamn condom."

From behind, I could see Lauren's face turn beet red, and Hinata and Tenten whipped their heads around and started asking questions.

"Is that where she went?" Neji asked after I returned to the kitchen.

"Yes, it is. And don't worry; she didn't really do it with him. I just wanted her to be interrogated by two very pesky kunoichis." I winked, and pulled Neji down to my height so I could crash my lips into his.

* * *

After a lunch that everyone attended (that I cooked), we all went to our respective homes. Tenten was probably going to go spread around that Neji and I were going out, and that Lauren and Shikamaru were going out. I didn't care. All was perfect right now. I had a boyfriend I loved, and my best friend was with me. Best of all, I wasn't in Corpus Christi anymore. I was in Kohana, my new home that I loved and protected as a shinobi.

Speaking of shinobi, Tsunade's calling for me.

"Rebecca, I have an assignment for you. I need you to go and meet with the captain of the sand village, and give him a certain package for me. I would send someone else, but everyone is out working on something. You can pick someone else to come along with you if you'd like. I have a map for you, but you might want some company."

"Alright. I'll do that. Once I have the person coming with me, I'll come to your office." She nodded at me, and then started walking back the building in which her office was.

* * *

"So you're telling me, I'm going on a mission with you alone?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not. When do we go?"

"Start packing your stuff, and when you're done, just come over to my place. We'll go to Tsunade after we have all of our stuff."

I stood in the doorway of Neji's room, arms folded. He walked over to me and brushed a bang out of my face.

"See you in a while," he said, brushing his knuckles across my cheek.

"Yeah, yeah loverboy. See you later." I kissed his cheek, and then started back to my house. Time to tell Lauren I was leaving.

* * *

"What do you mean you're leaving?! You just ditch me? Is that it? REALLY?!" I put my hand over Lauren's mouth before her rant could continue.

"Yes. I'll be back in a few days' time. It's not like I'm going back to Corpus or something. Chill." She sighed.

"Fine. You just be careful. Got it? Don't die on me. You're my best friend." I smiled and hugged her.

"No worries, Neji won't let anything happen to me."

She practically growled. "He better not."

As I packed my things, I heard a knock at the door in the front room. When Lauren answered it, I heard her say, "Look, if anything happens to her, you're going to wake up with a meat cleaver in your eye and a butcher knife in your penis. Got it?"

"Lauren, I think he gets it." I walked down the stairs, bag strapped around my shoulder. His eyes were widened from Lauren's inhuman threats, but he recovered quickly.

"Ready to go?"

"More than ever."

"Bye Rebecca! Remember Neji, meat cleaver!!"

"How are you friends with her?"

"Not a clue in the world. I just am. We get each other. Care about each other. Stuff like that. We stood up for each other when our teacher told us to spell our full names in kindergarten. It's when you're about four."

"I don't get it."

"Well, my full name is Rebecca Leah Harrison. That's not exactly the easiest to spell when you're four. Hers is Lauren Amber Vandercamp. She called him a sick bastard, and ever since then, we were best friends." I smiled at the memory of me and Lauren when we were so young.

"I see." Neji folded his arms, no doubt trying to imagine a young Lauren calling a teacher a bastard.

* * *

"And that is your assignment. All you have to do is deliver it straight to Gaara-sama."

I took the object and scroll and put them both in my bag.

"We'll be back soon Tsunade. See you later."

And with that, Neji and I started off on our journey to the Hidden Sand Village.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed! I enjoy being a favorite! =D**


	11. Chapter 11 : Sand Lord With Emotion!

Rebecca's Point of View

"I hate sand. I hate it so much right now." I tried to wipe off the brittle, annoying sand that clung to my body like paparazzi clung to Paris Hilton. I wasn't having a good time, and the three day's journey left me dreaming about real food and a true bed to sleep on instead of a cave floor on a tiny sleeping bag very unlike the ones in Corpus. All in all, I was a very cranky person.

However cranky I was though, Neji didn't seem to catch on with the fact that I wasn't having a good time, even though I had snapped at him more than a couple of times. For a smart person, he was not very wise when it came to annoyed people.

"When are we going to get to this wretched place anyway?" I hated complaining, but I had never been in a place with less than 70% humidity. Of course, in a desert, there was zip. None. EVER. Lucky for me though, my hair can withstand almost any humidity, whether there is none, or there is 99%.

Neji leaned against a wall, looking at me as if I were an idiot.

Wait…didn't I just say 'wall'?

I turned to face a giant, circular wall, and a gate just a few yards away from us.

"Oh…how long have we been standing here?" He grinned.

"We've been following this wall for about five or ten minutes now." He walked past me after patting my head. I slapped his back playfully, realizing how tired I really was. How could I have missed that?

* * *

As we stepped in the village, I was amazed at how different the sand village was from Kohana. In stead of buildings with doors, all things were sold in bazaar-like shacks. Everything was…dry, but that was to be expected. We were in a desert. We walked to the biggest building, an open air building that reminded me of a pavilion.

When we entered, a red haired boy with the kanji of love on his forehead was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, looking rather bored. Two guards stopped us, spears in their hands. "We have something from the Hokage to give to Kazekage-sama." Neji nodded at the boy, who was looking at us with sudden interest.

The boy looked me up and down, like I was a barcode being scanned at a grocery store. "Let them through." His voice was tired sounding, as if he hadn't had sleep for a long time. The bags under her eyes added to that affect.

"Neji-san, I haven't seen you in a while." Even though the boy was speaking to Neji, his eyes were looking at me curiously. "Who is it that you have brought with you?"

Neji stiffened at my side, but replied calmly, "This is Rebecca. She became a ninja just a few months ago."

"Welcome Rebecca, I am Gaara, the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. I hope that you will enjoy your stay in my village." His head was slightly cocked to one side, and his eyebrows were knit together ever so slightly.

I nodded and pulled out the item that was tightly wrapped in cloth and handed to him, and while doing so, his eyes were locked onto my face, and when his hand brushed against mine, I felt a sinister force behind the quiet boy. I pulled my hand away quickly, disturbed by the evilness in the boy. He couldn't have been but a year younger than me. I glanced at Neji, but he gave me a look that said, _I'll tell you later._

"It was certainly an honor to meet you Kazekage-sama, but I would like to rest now. The journey was quite excruciating." I tried to remain calm, but the boy was looking at me with a piercing gaze. It wasn't a hostile look, just curious.

He beckoned to a guard, and spoke to him in a low voice. When he was done, the guard turned to us and asked us to follow.

With one last glance at the strange boy on the throne, I stepped out of the pavilion into the hot desert village.

"What is with him?"

"I'll tell you in a minute." He looked at the guard, who was obviously trying to listen to our conversation. I nodded, and stayed quiet until he led us into a rather large hotel like room.

As soon as the door closed, Neji sat down on a couch in the room. "In our world, there were once nine great demons that walked our countries and destroyed villages as much as they pleased. Eventually, the great kages figured out a way to put the demons' souls into people. These people were called 'hosts'. Gaara has the one-tailed Shikaku in him. Because of the Shikaku in him, sand protects him wherever he goes, and he cannot sleep, otherwise, the demon will come out and start rampaging in cities and in towns. That is why he has bags under his eyes and talks as if he has never slept. He _hasn't_ ever slept." I blinked, letting it all sink in. So basically, the boy was the 'capsule' of a major demon that could kill people.

"Naruto, from our village, is also one." I widened my eyes when Neji said that, and without thinking gasped, "Hinata likes him and he's a demon kid?!"

"What?!" Neji grabbed my shoulders. Oops. I forget sometimes that they were cousins.

"Nothing, nothing. Nothing at all. Don't worry about it." I scratched my head guiltily. _Hinata's so going to KILL ME._

"Whatever. Speaking of people liking people…" he trailed off, looking away, frustrated.

"What? Who likes you that I have to hit and tell to back off?"

"It's not someone who likes me…it's someone who likes you." I widened my eyes. "Who?"

"Gaara. Did you not see that the second you walked in he was looking at you the whole time, and that when you were giving him Tsunade's package, he was trying to get you to stare into his eyes?" Now that I thought about it, I understood what Neji meant. What made me laugh was that Neji had noticed, and he seemed pretty peeved.

"What's so funny?"

"That you're so jealous. I never thought you as the jealous type."

"I'm not jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure…"

Neji scoffed. "What, I'm not allowed to be mad when other people look as if they want eat you you're so amazingly beautiful?"

"Gaara's a cannibal? You're a cannibal?!" I widened my eyes to make me look scared. Neji smacked him forehead in frustration. "No, I just…want you to tell me that you're not interested in anyone else…including the Kazekage."

I widened my eyes for real this time. "You really think I would like him? What do you think I am, a slut or something?!" Before Neji could answer, I stomped out of the room and slammed the door. I ran down the alley, not knowing where I was going, but I didn't care. How could he think that?

"Where are you running off too?" I screeched to a stop, knowing that the quiet voice belonged to Gaara. A bead of sweat dripped down the back of my neck, weighing down the hair that was standing straight up.

"Had a fight with Huuyga-san?" I stiffened. _He heard our whole conversation?!_

"I…understand that you're scared of me. It's only natural to be afraid of a demon. But, not to worry, I have complete control over it now. Just so long as I don't sleep that is." There was humor in his voice, but only a little. No matter how much or how little, it calmed me down. Slightly.

He walked up behind me, and touched my hair softly. It felt strange, because the only other person who had done that recently was Neji.

"You certainly are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." He said softly, as if not sure of himself. But boy did that catch me WAY off guard. Apparently, though, even demons can…love?

"Thanks…I had uh…better go…I need to get some rest if I want to be able t travel tomorrow." I laughed nervously, but he nodded. When I turned to leave, he asked, "Would you like me to join you? You probably don't know the village very well, do you?" I looked around, knowing I was lost. Knowing I really shouldn't, I said, "No, no…." _You're lost. Go with him. Neji will never find out. Just apologize when you get back, telling him you just needed some fresh air._

I hated when the inner voice was right.

Since when I do I have an inner voice?

And why does it sound like…a guy?

A deeper version of Gaara's voice?

I looked at Gaara, who was looking at me expectantly. "Alright, I'm lost. I need to get back to the hotel. Can you take me there?" I said it in a monotone voice. He seemed surprised that I agreed.

_It isn't Gaara who is talking. It is his _other _side. _

Well, on my list of things to tell Lauren, a demonic thing talking to me through my own thoughts were not among them.


	12. Chapter 12 : Get Away From My Face!

Lauren's Point Of View

It's been about four months since Shikamaru and I started dating. I'm in love with Shikamaru, but I'm not ready for this. The white dial in front of me had a red dot on it. I'm sixteen. Not a good time to be what the red dot told me I would be in 9 months. How was I going to tell Rebecca? How was I going to tell Shikamaru?

This sucked so bad right now.

It's official, God hates me.

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

I tried to ignore the demon talking to me inside my head.

Yeah, I just said _demon talking to me inside my head_.

But worse, the guy who the demon is harboring inside was walking me to my hotel room, where Neji, my boyfriend, was probably worrying about me being lost in an unfamiliar village, and when I got back with the very guy he asked me if I liked (which I DON'T [even though he likes me]), then he wouldn't be too happy.

I still wasn't quite sure how this was going to work out, but I was already lost as it was, so I had no choice. _This is going to be sooo bad. _Thankfully, that voice inside my head was my own, not a demonic one. When we got to a familiar building that looked like the hotel I was staying at, Gaara randomly grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. I gulped.

"Are you still afraid of me?" Jackass. I'm so not afraid of him. Why would he think that?

"No, I'm not." My arrogance was really not nice to me sometimes. As Lauren said sometimes, 'It's official, God hates me'.

Gaara's face was so close to mine I could feel his breath on my cheeks. This was soo not good at all. Right before I was going to push him away and throw a flurry of curses (in multiple languages) at him, I heard the slam of a door and swiveled out of Gaara's clutches to see the silhouette of Neji walking through the hotel room from the window. He saw it. Ooh shit.

"You fucking bastard!" I slammed my fists against his chest before his sand could surround me and ran the hell out of there.

I slammed the door behind me and slid down to the floor. Neji's room was shut. _Duh Rebecca. He's probably pissed at me._ "Neji?" I knocked at his door softly. The door opened to a slight crack, and Neji, refraining eye contact, said quietly, "Get some sleep, we're leaving tomorrow. I'm sure you've already said goodbye to Gaara." He said it harshly, and shut, no slammed the door in my face. I sighed.

"Neji, the other bed is in there. If I need to sleep, then I need to get in there." He opened the door quietly, and I could tell he was about to roll his eyes. I smiled, but he was already looking away. When I walked into the small room, I saw **one bed**. Sure, it was a king sized, but we were angry at each other, which meant tonight was going to be very awkward. God really did hate me. I walked into the bathroom and saw that the only pajamas I had brought were my **really** short-shorts and my sports bra. Haha. Wonderful. I HATE MY LIFE. I put my hair up in a ponytail, changed into the pajamas, and walked out, hoping he was already asleep.

Of course, my luck is horrible right now, so he was awake, looking at the doorway I was in, and was shirtless. Why does he do that to me? His eyes widened a little at my hair, because I never put it up. Well, at least he wasn't ignoring me, which was a start.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out quickly, making his eyes widen again. He cocked an eyebrow.

"You didn't look to sorry, about to kiss him like that." I smacked my forehead.

"I was going to push him away, he was about to kiss me! I am not interested in him. I told you that already."

"Oh. So this is all a big misunderstanding?" he asked.

"Yes, it was. But I was mad at you for thinking that I liked him when I'm going out with you." He smiled at me and fingered through my hair.

"Well, that's good to hear," he murmured leaning in to me. I smiled. Always the romantic.

I put my hands behind his neck and rested my head on his shoulder. "We should get some sleep if we want to get back to Kohana soon," he muttered, obviously not happy about it. I chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I never expected you to be a hopeless romantic."

He frowned. "I'm not hopeless."

"Sure you aren't…" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not hopeless right now. I have you."

"So you finally agree I'm not a cheating bitch huh?"

He laughed. "Sure, let's go with that."

I kissed him on the cheek and pulled my arms slowly back to my side. "We should sleep. I don't want to spend three days in the desert again." Neji laughed and tucked me into the bed. He kissed me and said softly, "Good night love."

_You have been chosen. You must come to your senses girl. _The khaki-colored raccoon thing grinned mischievously at me. "Would you stay out of my mind? I don't like people thinking for me, and I also don't like a giant raccoon thing talking to me in my dreams." Despite the fact that I sounded calm, alarms were going off in my head. Was that the Shikaku? _You will return, and when you do, my host will take you from your partner. _"If you so much as threaten me or any of my friends, I will make sure I will never, ever come back. Get that fluffball?" The Shikaku just smirked on. _You'll return. I'm sure of it._

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat with Neji looking at me worriedly. "What's wrong?"

_I can't endanger him. _"I had a dream. I don't remember it." He didn't look very convinced, but he let it go.

"Well, if it's already four in the morning and **we're** both awake, how about we get going…if you want?" He's asking me if I want to leave a place with lots of sand and a ruler that's demon side is stalking me in my dreams? Well, I think you know the answer to that question.

"When are we going to be back in Kohana?"

"If we don't rest but go a little slower, probably a day at the most."

"Good, let's get out of here."

* * *

**Hi everybody, it's Riko. Thanks to Lauren, who is complaining about her character a lot. _(JK) _Okay, so thanks to everyone who favorited and did a review. It's really making my day go well, considering my day hasn't gone as planned today. I was going to go see **Meg & Dia** in concert at the Warped Tour, but I passed out. So, I left. I did the responsible thing even though it tore me in half. (Sorta)**

**Anyway, sorry about my whining about passing out in 102 degree weather, I had to put that out there. -_-"**

**New chapter up soon I hope...**

**And remember kids, don't pass out at a concert, especially if you're with Gaara, cause he'll be a raper and drag you off to Canada with only a speedo on. (Sorry for all you Canadians.)**

=D


	13. Chapter 13 : AHHHHHHHHH!

Neji's Point of View

The moon was at its fullest, lighting the path through the trees Rebecca and I were running through. We had been running for twenty-four hours straight, and Rebecca and I were both tired, but we couldn't stop until we got back to Kohana. Rebecca's slowed a bit, but I pushed her in front of me.

"We have to get there before they close the gates for the festival. I'm sorry Rebecca, but we can't stop now." It seemed stupid that Tsunade made us go even though there was a high chance we wouldn't get back in time for the gates. The festival would last for eight days, so unless we wanted to camp outside of Kohana for another week, we needed to push our way through the night.

Rebecca's reply was hazy, telling me she was on the brink of exhaustion. I took me a second to register that she was now free-falling down from the tree trunk she had missed landing on. She was unconscious.

Well shit.

I dived down after her, keeping my body as aerodynamic as possible to reach the ground before her. I landed feet first on the ground and caught her in my arms. After I swung her onto my back, I started running toward Kohana, not wanting to be locked out.

Rebecca's hand was tightly clenched on my shirt, so tightly that I couldn't pry her fingers from it. Not wanting to show up at Lauren's door with her unconscious body in my arms, I carried Rebecca back to the Hyuga mansion and into my room. I tried on multiple accounts to pry her hand from my shirt, until I just took it off and let her hold it. I laid her down on my bed and called for one of the maids, who shooed me out of the room to change Rebecca into a sleeping kimono that was the color of her eyes. Obviously, the maid had seen Rebecca here before. When I was pushed inside by the maid again, I noticed that Rebecca was curled up with my shirt close to her body, as if it was precious to her. I brushed a single strand from her peaceful face and climbed into the bed next her, praying that when she woke up she wouldn't try to kill me not realizing who I was.

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

I woke up with Neji's scent all around me, and found that I was holding one of his shirts. Yes, Neji has a scent. It's like winter pines, or (if you don't use fake Christmas trees,) living Christmas trees that you actually have to water and are a pain in the ass. Not that you have to water him, or that he's a pain in the ass…

Okay, that sounded really weird.

But, it was refreshing never the less. It made me almost forget the things that had happened in the past couple of days.

Almost.

I turned over to see Neji gazing quietly, as if sinking into the moment. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke up.

"What, nothing clever to say?"

I smiled and rolled on top of him, feeling disappointed when his far away look wasn't phased.

"And how is it that I wake up clutching your shirt in your bed Neji Hyuga? Did you abduct me or something?" I leaned into his neck, hearing him chuckle. I closed my eyes, trying to take in his scent again, but it wasn't the same. It smelled like…sand.

I opened my eyes and saw, for only a split second, short, spiky red hair instead of Neji's long black locks.

I frantically pulled away, shocked. Neji pushed himself into a sitting position and pushed a lock of hair from my distressed face.

"What's wrong?"

I stuttered, not wanting to tell him what was really going on.

"Nothing…I just…am really tired. Is it okay if I sleep some more here, or should I get going?" I shifted from off of his lap, not wanting to look at his face, which was probably confused…and most likely hurt.

"Um…whatever you want I guess."

I nodded and said that I would go back home.

That was when I noticed I wasn't in my own clothes.

"Um…how did I magically get into this kimono?" Neji walked over and pulled at the lace that held it together.

"The maid was kind enough to dress you at one in the morning. I know I'm no where in any rights to do it myself."

I grabbed his hand, which had the lace almost all the way untied. When I looked up at him, I saw a flash of Gaara's face again. Neji must have seen the fear in my eyes, because he let go of the lace.

"I'm sorry, but I really need some sleep. If I don't get to Lauren before to long, she's going to start thinking naughty thoughts. We wouldn't want that, would we?" I forced myself to smile, although my heart wasn't in the joke. If I was going to see Gaara's face the rest of my life, I was going to go insane.

Neji kissed me softly and whispered, "I'll be patient. If you need time, you can have some." He paused. "Your clothes are folded in the bathroom. I'll walk you home when you're dressed."

He pulled away and walked into his closet without another word. I dressed myself, but didn't wait for him. I needed to think, and I really couldn't deal with Gaara's face popping up over Neji's.

I set off in a brisk pace for home, feeling something very wrong about to unfold.

"WHAT?!" I felt like pulling my hair out of my scalp. How could she have done something so stupid?

"Rebecca, it's really not a big deal, I mean, I've already accepted it, and Shika's already accepted it. All that's left is you." I slammed my head into the wall, frustrated.

"How could you have done something that stupid? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I love him, and that won't change any time soon."

"You're sixteen."

"They marry here at the age of eighteen."

I was shocked. _Married?_

Lauren was not one for long time relationships, and she wanted to get _married_?!

"You're insane."

"No, I'm just…emotionally distressed."

"Don't make up excuses to me you fetus carrying idiot!"

Lauren inhaled sharply, her mouth making an "o" shape.

I couldn't believe it. She was sixteen and knocked up.

As if my life wasn't hell enough, my best friend was now going to be a mother, with no second thoughts about it too.

Fuck my life.

This sucked major ass.

"So, which one do you think I would look good in?" I ignored Tenten's questions, and firing my own at her.

"You really don't care that Lauren is making the biggest decision of her life here?"

Tenten shrugged. "Some girls marry at fifteen if they are in love with their partner. When you live in a ninja community, you have to be able to give up years of growing up to make years for being with your loved one. They could die any time on a mission."

I pictured Neji dieing randomly, and I could see where she was going with this.

"It's how our culture works. I don't know about yours, but it's how we do it here. Lauren seems to respect that and decided to live by it already."

I guess it made some sense. I had to give Lauren some credit; she was definitely in love with Shikamaru if this already happened.

"So Rebecca, I'll ask you again, which one should I wear?" I looked at the two kimonos in her hands, one of which she would wear to the festival.

"The orange, definitely."

* * *

**Wee!! I really like this one, because...well...I don't really know. I'm sorry the recent ones have been so short, but short is fun sized, so I hope you people aren't too fed up with me!! ;)**

**Thanks to **TJD41066**,** avid-reader21**,** Dragon of Ice and Light**,** **and my best friend forever, Lauren, for letting me make her character an irresponsible, naughtty little girl. Although, for some reason, I think she doesn't mind. (LOL)**

**Love you bitches!**

**~Riko ^-^**


	14. Chapter 14 : Peace? Yeah, Whatever

Lauren's Point of View

Well, at first Rebecca didn't take my news very well, but I'm glad she gave in. It's good, because now I have my maid of honor and my child's godmother. She's gonna hate me for it, but I'm going to make Shikamaru have Neji as her partner when the best man and maid of honor go up together. Even though he wanted Chouji to be the best man, I convinced him otherwise. Besides, Chouji really didn't want to anyway. All the better. And, Rebecca would have to wear two dresses. One for the reception and one as the maid of honor. She hated dresses. She despised dresses. I think the only thing she hated more than dresses was the Jonas Brothers. And that my friends, is a lot of hate. Her dart board is the Jonas Brothers, and let me tell you, she has very good aim. Very good.

Anyway…what was I going to say? I talked to Neji, and he told me what that scoundrel Gaara did to Rebecca. And now, she was acting really weird. Both of us noticed it. It seemed like she was being haunted or something. Neji said that the Shikaku might be doing things to her head, and now, I'm going to investigate.

I walked into her room and saw her sketching something, crumpling it up, and then throwing it over her shoulder. Behind her was a pile of white papers, all rejected. The pile reached to my knees. Something was terribly wrong.

I reached down and unfolded one of the rejects, and gazed at the face of a boy with short, croppy hair and darkened eyes. He had the Japanese symbol for 'love' on his forehead. I unfolded a couple more and saw that they were all alike. All of them were of the boy, but all were different, one where he was talking to a large…raccoon (?) thing, one where he was walking beside a dark haired girl, and the third, which disturbed me the most, where he was close to kissing the shocked looking dark haired girl – Rebecca.

Rebecca tossed a couple over her shoulder again, and then rested her head on her crossed arms. She had never noticed I was even there. Rebecca always knew if someone was behind her. This was wrong.

I walked out of her room, needing to talk to Neji and Shikamaru.

"Is this that Gaara kid?" I pulled out the drawing of just him, and also the drawing of him with the raccoon thing. Neji snatched up the papers, and his face fell when he saw them.

"Did Rebecca draw them?"

"That's not the point. It's not like she's obsessed with him or something. She's just…possessed."

Neji's knuckles whitened as he clenched his hand into a fist. Jealous much?

"Calm down Neji. I'm not possessed." Neji and I swung around to see Rebecca in the doorway. Despite her seemingly in-character remark, she was not herself. She had bags under her eyes and she leaned against the doorframe as if she couldn't hold herself up. Neji sprung up and put his hand on her forehead. "You okay?" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm seeing some demon harboring guy whether I'm awake or asleep and you're asking me if I'm okay." Neji flinched back when Rebecca snapped back at him. No matter how sick it felt, I actually felt bad for Neji.

Rebecca noticed, and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just…really tired. And if I go to sleep, it's most likely that I'm going to get visited by Fatty the raccoon right there." She nodded at the scrap of paper lying on Neji's bed.

"Disrespectful aren't we?" My eyes widened.

"Please tell me that was you Neji."

"Sorry, no can do."

"It's the Shikaku." Neji and I looked at Rebecca, who looked relatively unfazed at the deep voice coming from no one in the room.

Well, despite the fact that she looked like shit.

Sorry Becka. You do.

"Well, Rebecca, now that your friends know about me, I presume you told them about our little agreement?"

"We had no 'agreement'"

"Well, on your side, you didn't seem to lighten up."

"Get the hell out of my god damn life you fucking ass bag."

"Language language my dear Rebecca. My goodness. No one ever taught you manners I assume."

"Go fuck yourself."

The voice cackled. "That's not nice."

"I don't give a damn."

The voice didn't cease its laughter.

"Enjoy your time in Kohana for now Rebecca. Be sure to tell your friends goodbye during the festival. I'll give you ten days. I won't bother you, but you have to come and visit the sand after the ten days are up. If you don't, you will never hear the end of it from me. Think about it."

After a few minutes of silence, Neji finally spoke up. "You aren't going to go, are you?"

"I don't know."

"Rebecca, you can't leave." Neji's voice seemed to waver a bit, but I could have been imagining it.

"I don't want to live the rest of my life with that…_thing_ talking to me twenty-four seven."

"But…if you go…" I tried to speak, but my sentence just broke off. I still couldn't believe I had just listened to a conversation between my best friend and a demon thing that was stalking her.

I should write a novel.

"Look, let's just ignore what happened today, okay?"

"Why not tell Tsunade?" Neji was fishing for solutions.

Rebecca finally snapped. "Look, I'm sorry that you have to deal with me, but I don't think Tsunade can fix what's going on, even if she is the Hokage. Now stop whining. If you think this is hell for you, don't even try to imagine what I'm going through."

The door slammed behind her, leaving Neji dumbstruck and silent. "Neji…don't worry. She's just really stressed. And tired. And cranky. And being stalked. But other than that she's the same old Rebecca we both know and love in different ways." I tried to smile, but Neji didn't even look at me. He brushed the drawings off of his bed and layed down, his back facing me. I would have never imagined him to be so fragile. Then again, his childhood was apparently crap and the love of his life just yelled at him and might be leaving him for a creepy demon infested dude.

My head hurts.

I picked up the papers and left to buy Rebecca a dress for the festival.

I would get them back together and keep Rebecca here no matter what.

Someone's Point of View

Three days. Three days until I saw all of my friends again. Three days until I get to go to the festival in Kohana. Three days until Sakura saw how strong I had gotten. Three days until I saw my home, my sensei, and get a new mission. Three days until I was finally away from that stupid pervy sage. I looked at the setting sun and into the distance where my home awaited.

Three days.

Someone Else's Point of View

A couple more days until Sasori and I got to the sand village. We would take down the Kazekage, and take the Shikaku from him.

This would be fun. Very, very fun.

A bang.

Rebecca's Point of View

Stupid Shikaku, only ten days?! Fuck my life. Fuck my life to hell. I hate this.


	15. Chapter 15 : K and N Shall DIE!

**Hello! I just want to warn you all that this might not follow the plot line very well, but you'll have to deal with it. It will help in my next couple of chapters.**

* * *

Naruto's Point of View 

"WHAT?!" I slammed my fists against the gate's walls.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, the gate's closed."

I turned to Ero-Senin, my eyes twitching.

"You think I didn't see that? You said it would be the perfect time to come back!" I screamed, while Ero-Senin scratched his head laughing.

"I meant for research. All those girls in kimonos….especially Sakura. Now that she's grown up."

I smacked my head against the gate. "You're joking!"

"Don't worry Naruto, I told Tsunade we were coming. She's sending someone to open the gate for us."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!"

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

"Could you please go open the gates?" I raised my eyebrows at Tsunade, who was closely inspecting her newly manicured nails.

"Uh… I thought they weren't supposed to open the gates during the festival."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "The festival is almost over anyway. Besides, these two are very important. Why are you questioning me anyway?"

Gaara's voice started to whine in my mind again. "I'm your leader, not her. Don't do as she says." I internally rolled my eyes. _I told you to leave me alone._

The inner Gaara groaned, but said no more. As I walked out of Tsunade's office, I thought of way to tell Gaara to get the hell out of my head.

So far I had about zero options.

Sighing, I hurried over to the gates, trying to avoid anyone who might want to throw me into a kimono (i.e. Lauren, Tenten, and Hinata).

Behind the gate I could hear a boy's voice yelling at a seemingly calm…old man? These were the 'important people' Tsunade wanted me to let in? They were talking about women for God's sakes!

"Hey! You perverts on the other side!!" The arguing stopped.

"You want to come in or not?" I decided to taunt the perverts.

"Yes! By the Buddha, let me in!" I heard fists pounding against the doors. I laughed.

"Why? Who are you two anyway?"

"Didn't Tsunade send you to open the gates?"

I tapped my chin. "Oh…maybe."

"I am Jiraya and traveling with me is Naruto Uzumaki. Now will you let us in?"

"Hm…..I'm thinking not."

"WHAT?!" Fists began pounding against the door again. I smiled and pulled the doors open, revealing a blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit. Well, it wasn't really a jumpsuit, but whatever. It was really weird. He was now on the ground, face planted into the dirt.

"Ow…"

The old guy laughed, and then looked at me closely. He murmured something I couldn't hear and leaned in close to me. "Pretty eyes…"

I raised my hand to slap him, but he flinched away first.

"Good. That's what I thought. Now that you're in-" I saw an orange-clad fist hurtling toward me. I grabbed his arm and swung him over my shoulder, making him fall to the ground again.

"I would have thought three years would have given him more self control…I guess not. Sorry about that beautiful." The old guy winked at me.

"Don't you talk to me like that or you'll find in the middle of the night that your stomach's been cut open." I flipped the bird at him and walked off.

"Hey, I'm not done with you!" Naruto was getting up from the ground in a pathetic attempt to not look…well, pathetic.

I turned around, annoyed, and stepped toward him. "I know you just got back and you're dying to see Sakura and such, but you're seriously making me want to kick you and your stupid blinding jumpsuit to oblivion."

He shifted from foot to foot, but held his posture, which was surprising for someone under my evil stare. "I'm not afraid of you."

I put my face very close to his, and I could feel his nervous breath practically dripping off his nose. "Oh really."

"Naruto, I see you've met Rebecca." Naruto turned around to see a rather peeved Neji standing a ways away, and I could tell that he wanted to rip Naruto's head off.

"Neji! It's been so long…" His voice trailed off as I somewhat skipped over to Neji, who put his arm around me protectively.

"Yeah. It really has." His teeth grinded together, and Naruto flinched away a little.

I flittered my fingers at him. "Nice meeting you Naruto!" I did the same skipping type thing away, knowing Neji was staring curiously after me. Oh well. I would explain everything after I saw Lauren. Now I wanted to get into my kimono and spend the rest of the festival with my best friends.

* * *

Naruto's Point of View

"So Neji…uh…I've never seen her around here before. When did she er…come?" Neji stared at me with insane intensity that scared the crap out of me. Either they were related or they were dating.

"She came while you were gone. She's a powerful Jonin who has many friends here. If you so much as bother her in the slightest way, I will personally rid the world of you. Got it?"

I blinked in disbelief. I nodded, not wanting to say anything more that might piss him off.

He nodded and walked off, and as he left, Ero-Senin started to chuckle.

"You're going to get your ass kicked Naruto!" He doubled over, hiccupping in between his laughs.

I rolled my eyes and ran off, going between alleyways, heading straight for the large pole at the center of the village. I climbed up on it and yelled at the top of my lungs…

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

"EVERYONE, UZUMAKI NARUTO HAS RETURNED!" I looked up and saw that Naruto was standing on top of a huge pole.

"What the hell is that idiot doing up there?" Suddenly, a wonderful idea popped into my head.

I climbed up right after him, grabbed his foot, and pulled him down. He fell, screaming and fell face-first into the pavement. I jumped down and leaned over him. "It seems to me that you're accident prone."

He groaned and rolled over, clutching his face. "Ow."

I chuckled and helped him up.

"Sorry, it seems that I wanted a little payback for throwing punches at me."

"You slammed me onto the ground when I did it though. Isn't that enough?" I laughed.

"No, that was strictly self-defense. You really frightened me, almost slamming my face in. I like my face you know."

Naruto laughed, and then dusted himself off. "Hey! They added Granny Tsunade's face to the mountain!" I followed his gaze.

"Whoa! I never noticed that!" Naruto looked at me strangely, but I ignored it. I was too busy looking at the fourth guy that strangely looked a lot like Naruto.

"Hey…Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"That fourth guy up there, is that-"

"Naruto?"

Naruto spun around and Sakura smiled at him. "It's been so long Sakura-Chan." I rolled my eyes and walked off, leaving Naruto and Sakura to reminisce and make lovey-dovey eyes at each other. It was too disgusting for me to watch anyhow. But that guy really looked like he could be Naruto's dad. I decided I would ask Neji about it some time.

"Sexi-no jutsu!" I turned around to see Konohamaru had turned into a…well…a naked woman who looked rather familiar.

"Konohamaru, did you base that off of me?" I tapped my foot as Konohamaru changed back to his normal self, looking rather pale.

"Maybe…" He screamed and ran away when I stepped toward him.

"Little bastard."

* * *

**So thanks for reading, and I know that my chapters are getting shorter and shorter every time, but I'll try to write more. I really will!**

**So thanks to all that reviewed and ect. ect. (or is it etc? I dunno...). Now I need a favor for all you people.**

**I have major writer's block, and I need ideas. Really. Please, please, PLEASE give me ideas. It would make my life easier and the wait for chapters less tedious.**

**By the way, the reason I haven't updated in forever is because I was gone to see my family in the country and there is nothing there to reach the internet or Word. I was dying. I apologize for my cousins' lack of modern technology. **

**Review! It makes me happy!**

**=D**


	16. Chapter 16 : Hey, You're Brother's DEAD!

Naruto's Point of View

It's not even been a full two days since I came and already I have a mission. I haven't even seen all of my friends yet.

I came to Tsunade's office and she told us Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki. Oh, and I also learned that he's the Kazekage.

"Anything else I missed?"

"Just get ready to go. Sakura, you're going to have to get the poison out of Kankuro's system. Got it?" Sakura nodded and ran out of the room, most likely getting the supplies she needed.

After she left, Tsunade began to explain the mission, often glancing at the door, until finally someone knocked.

"Come in."

In stepped Rebecca, who asked, "You have a mission for me?"

"Yes, I need someone with water-based attacks and knows the land to come with Team Kakashi to the Sand Village. The Kazekage has been kidnapped, and because of your current…situation with him, I want you to help track him. Understood?"

Rebecca didn't seem too happy, but she nodded.

"Go pack your things then." Tsunade waved her off, and Rebecca left.

When Kakashi looked with a puzzled expression at Tsunade, she sighed.

"Rebecca visited the Sand Village on an important mission for me, and the Shikaku inside Gaara was drawn to her chakra, since it is unique. Because the Shikaku can possess people's minds, he implanted himself in her mind. As much as I don't want to lose her to the Sand, I need some way of tracking Gaara's body. Not only Pakkun and his other canine friends can track him. This is the Akatsuki we're talking about. We need something they won't expect."

"So what you're saying is, the Shikaku is practically infatuated with Rebecca?"

Tsunade tapped her chin at Kakashi's question.

"Well, apparently, it seems that Gaara was in some way attracted to Rebecca. But I may be wrong. It might just be the Shikaku's influence."

I gaped at Tsunade. Gaara liking someone? That was just too weird for me.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get packed. Do we meet at the gate?"

Tsunade nodded, waved me off, and I walked out the door. As I walked down the hallway, I heard the Kyuubi speaking in my head.

"_The girl does have interesting chakra. It is very powerful too. Don't you think we should go after it?" _ I shook my head and pushed the Kyuubi down. There was no way I was going to hurt Rebecca. Neji's warning was still in order.

Rebecca's Point of View

We left promptly when all of us had arrived. Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and I leaped off into the trees, running at full pace.

After running for a long time, Kakashi told us to slow down, and he got the attention of a blonde girl with a huge metal case on the back, and signaled her to stop.

We all started to walk beside her. I recognized her from the village, since she helped out with the Chunin exams a lot, but I had never talked to her.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura started to talk to her, leaving me in the rear, looking promptly at all of their backs. Fun. The wind was being very strange, and I could almost sense sand being kicked up into the air ahead.

"Kakashi-san, I'm going to go ahead to find a resting place. There's a sandstorm ahead, and at this rate, we'll get there by tomorrow afternoon." I jumped off before he could protest. I had already heard what they were going to tell her, and no doubt I was going to be ignored if I stayed with them.

As I ran off, I heard Naruto's doubt-filled voice waver. "How does she know there's a sandstorm?"

The trees eventually thinned, and the sandstorm was very evident. Great tunnels of thin, beige debris moved over the cracked terrain of the desert. I sighed. "I hate sand."

I looked around for the cave Neji and I stayed in on our last mission, and could see nothing through the storm. "Damn this mission to hell!" I threw my head back in frustration, tying my hair into a ponytail. The wind was whipping it in front of my face, eclipsing my vision like a black curtain, which was really pissing me off.

"**Suiton, Suijinheki." I spit out the water that flowed into my mouth, and made a box around my body with it. "If only this jutsu wasn't so chakra sucking," I muttered to myself. I walked through the sandstorm, not touched at all by the flying debris.**

**I found the deep cave and walked into it, letting my jutsu fall to the ground. Opening my backpack, I grabbed the small flare and lit it. By now, the others would be looking for me, but they would have to find their own way in. I lit the flare and set it off at the mouth of the cave, making the cave glow a bright red. **

**"Ah, there you are!" Kakashi stepped in. I frowned. "Where is everyone else?" Suddenly, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.**

**Poof.**

**"Kage bunshin. Smart." I turned back around and started to unpack my sleeping bag. My vision started to fade and I became dizzy. "Stupid ass freaking jutsu. Sucked a lot of…chakra." I sat down as everything went black.**

**I woke up with four faces looking down at me worriedly. Sakura had her hand on my forehead. "She's got a fever." Naruto looked away. "Damn."**

**"Hey. Either I get claustrophobic on you guys, or you give me room yourselves. Which would you prefer?" They all backed off, and I heard Naruto mutter, "I still wonder what Neji sees in her." I rolled my eyes, ignoring him.**

**"Alright, how long have I been out?" I sat up, crossing my legs Indian-style. (Seriously, why would you call Indian-style criss-cross applesauce? That's just gonna make little kids start screaming about how hungry they are, not make them sit obediently! Indians were here before we created that stupid little rhyme!)**

**"We got into the cave a couple of minutes ago and you were unconscious. You're sick, possibly had a concussion from hitting your head, and you ask us, 'How long have I been out?'" Sakura's voice had disbelief, annoyance, arrogance, etc. etc. in it. I really want to slap her sometimes, you know?**

**"Okay…dearest Sakura, what was the length of my unconsciousness?" I faked a British accent, and put my hand over my heart, posting a mock-concerned look on my face.**

**Goodness, I love sarcasm. It's my only defense against stupid and arrogant people.**

**Temari, as I learned her name was, giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Kakashi and Naruto looked amused. In fact, Sakura was the only one who didn't look generally amused.**

**I didn't have the slightest idea why.**

**And yes, I am being sarcastic.**

**Again.**

**Isn't this fun?**

**Temari and I got along well, despite the fact that she's Gaara's sister. I felt bad stereotyping her like that, but it was my nature. I didn't like to trust every Joe or Mary out there. Now I know what you're thinking. 'There's no Joe or Mary here! What is this girl talking about?' Well folks, go ahead and ask your parents. And if they don't know…well…I just don't trust people that well okay? Get it now?**

**So I found myself in the cave with Temari and everyone else was asleep. "Rebecca…I need to apologize for my brother. Kakashi told me…about…well, I'm sure you know better than anyone what I'm talking about." She looked down at her hands, which were interlocked, thumbs twiddling away. (Funny how they do that here too.)**

**I shrugged. "Well, depending on what happens on this mission, I might get him to leave me alone. Tsunade believes it's all the Shikaku's doing, but I think differently. I think yeah, the Shikaku wants something from me, but I think your brother has a crush on me. Of his own thinking. I don't think he's completely controlled by the Shikaku. I mean, Naruto's demon probably wants my soul or whatever too, and Naruto hates me."**

**"Naruto doesn't hate you. He resents you."**

**"Why am I resented?"**

**Temari lowered her voice. "He likes Sakura, right?"**

**I nodded. "As far as I can tell."**

**"Well, Sakura's in love with Sasuke, who left a long time ago. He betrayed your village, but he was friends with Sakura and Naruto. They were on the same team and such."**

**I nodded again. I had heard of this Sasuke guy, but I never was entirely interested. He seemed like quite the lady's man. "What does this have to do with me being resented?" **

**Temari chuckled. "Naruto sees that you and Neji are happy together. Everyone in the village sees it. You two are perfect for each other by the way." I raised my eyebrows. Naruto was…jealous? **

**"Naruto wants love is what I mean. You have a boyfriend, he wants a girlfriend. His love is hooked on someone else. It's simple."**

**"Well, I know someone who likes Naruto. She's one of my best friends too."**

**"Who?"**

**"Like I'll tell you! You'll tell Naruto!"**

**Temari laughed. "Yeah, I probably would. I love juicy stuff like this."**

**I laughed at her. "It seems like you want love yourself."**

**Temari scowled. "I'm better off on my own."**

**"Right…" I yawned, my sentence cut off.**

**Temari laughed as tears filled my eyes. "Alright, I'll let you sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."**

**"Great…" Sarcasm coated the word, but I layed down and fell asleep instantly.**


	17. Chapter 17 : Rebecca Wants Out

Rebecca's Point of View

I woke up first. I've always hated waking up first, because I have to wake up everyone else, and I don't really know the ways that my new team sleeps and or wakes up. I don't know if I should slap them (thinking about it for Naruto), flick them (Sakura), or just tell them to wake up. Kankuro's life was in Sakura's hands, who was slightly snoring, cuddled up right next to Naruto.

_She's still in love with Sasuke. _I remembered Temari saying that, but it looked to me like she was trying to be a whore.

But that's just my perceptions. Maybe she's having a dream that Sasuke is there, and she's holding onto Naruto, thinking it's Sasuke.

This is too much to think about in the morning.

I tapped Kakashi on the shoulder, and his eyes flew open. "Relax, it's me. I'm going to wake up Temari; you wake up the rest of your time."

He nodded, seeming to be fully awake. I stepped over to Temari, and tapped at her shoulder, the same thing I did to Kakashi.

I got a very different reaction.

Eyes still closed, she grabbed her fan and swung it full force at me. I jumped over it, but barely missed it. "Temari, it's me! Rebecca!" She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. "Oh. Sorry." She stood up, strapped the fan to her back, and walked to the mouth of the cave.

I slapped my forehead and sighed. Not even awake an hour and I already had been on the brink of death.

After Naruto and Sakura finally woke up (after much yelling and slapping on Naruto's part), we headed off for the Sand Village. I was nervous. I didn't know how many people knew of my predicament, but I certainly never thought I would be coming back. Of course, I would have come because of the Shikaku's threat, but other than that, I didn't know I would be coming with my stalker's sister, two love-struck idiots and the sensei of the idiots.

But anyway.

As soon as we went through the gates, we were whisked away to the medical…hut (?) and went to see Kankuro, Temari's other brother. I was praying evil demons didn't run in the family. But Temari seemed fine, so I was a little comforted.

The guy was sweating on a medical bed with purple paint all over his face in intricate patterns. It was…interesting? Sakura went right to work, having all of us hold down one of his arms or legs. I got the left arm, so I was watching Sakura and Kankuro closely. Anytime he would wince, I would tell them to hold him down, and he would try to pry himself out of our grasps.

It never really worked out for him.

Sakura was pulling some poison out of him to make the antidote, and after that was done, despite the fact that he still had the poison in him, she left. And she said it would take a couple of hours.

A couple of hours and this guy had dangerous deadly poison in him? Not that I could stop her. I didn't know how poison spreading worked in this world. I just sat back and watched Temari watch her unconscious brother.

Fun.

Eventually, I got bored, so I told everyone who wasn't listening I was going to get a breath of fresh air. When I walked out of the building, I headed over to one of the tents that had beautiful jewelry hanging from the suspension posts. I only looked though, for two reasons. One, I didn't trust anything in this village, and two, because I was broke. All of my money went into Lauren's wedding which I would probably be missing if this mission didn't go by fast enough. And then, I would have to deal with hell's spawn (Lauren on a permanent PMS).

"Now I don't want to go home." I knew Lauren would make me the 'godmother' despite my hate of little children. Now I know what you're thinking, how could I, a girl, dislike children?

I don't know.

A few hours of walking around the village calmed me, but as I learned when I finally beat Ocarina of Time, all good things come to an end. (Okay, so that isn't exactly a good example, since that game made me pissed off more times than not, but you get my point.)

Kakashi's Kage Bunshin came to tell me that they needed me in the medical wing. I didn't know that the building I was in earlier was a medical wing, but I went anyway.

I walked in to see Kankuro awake, and seemingly healthy, with Sakura standing over him, checking his 'medical statuses'.

"She's the one the Shikaku wants?" He pointed at me in disbelief, practically shouting.

I sighed. "And you have purple lines on your face. Anything else you'd like to yell that points out the obvious?" His eyebrows knit together. "I don't see anything different." I rolled my eyes, and then walked up to him.

"My chakra's different you imbecile." I leaned down so I could see him eye to eye. His were filled with curiosity and fear. "Tch." I spun on my heel and walked next to Kakashi. "What did you need of me?"

"Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki. Kankuro managed to get a piece of one of the enemy's clothing, so we won't need you…er…tracking techniques. You can come with us if you want. Or, you could stay here and wait for our return."

"I can't go home?"

"No. I would usually have someone escort you, but Sunagakura needs all the ninjas it has right now to rebuild." I looked around, annoyed. As much as I didn't want to stay here, I obviously was no use to them against the Akatsuki. I would just slow them down.

"Fine, I'll stay here. They'll need all the help they can get I guess." I looked over at Temari, who nodded in thanks. I didn't care to glance at Kankuro, who was no doubt staring at me.

* * *

I stood on my tiptoes, stretching as high as I can to hand one of the villagers the jug of water. He pulled it up, taking a swig, then handing it off to the next person on the top of the gate. As I walked away, rolling my eyes at their barbarianism, I heard some of the workers shouting.

"Open the gate! Someone's trying to get in!" Everyone was looking around frantically, and seeing that the only person around was me, started yelling at me.

I sighed and walked to the gate, pulling at the ropes, which pulled the giant doors open. In stepped four very familiar people.

* * *

Tenten's Point of View

I stepped into the Sand Village along with my team, taking in my surroundings. I saw lots of people with hammers and such, rebuilding the city after the Akatsuki's attack. I looked to my right and saw a smiling face. I concealed my hand, which pointed at Neji, who was oblivious to the girl who was running straight toward him. She tackled him, and he nearly fell over from the impact.

She hugged him tightly, and Neji, just figuring out it was Rebecca, was laughing and trying to pry her off of him.

"Our young Neji has found the-" I punched Gai-Sensei in the stomach, stopping his stupid rant. "You're ruining the moment." Gai did the whole, huge tears thing, Lee joining him, but I ignored them. I had never seen Neji so happy before Rebecca came. Seeing them happy together was…well…it made me want something like they had.

"Why are you guys here?" Rebecca, still hanging to Neji's arm, asked.

"We're here to help out Naruto's team. They're going to need all the help they can get." Her smile dropped. "Oh."

Neji looked down at her. "Didn't you come with them?"

"Yeah, but I thought it would be better if I stayed here to help with the reconstruction."

"I see."

"So how long are you guys going to be in the village?"

"We were going to leave as soon as we figured out which way they went. We were going to go ask Temari or Kankuro."

Rebecca nodded solemnly. "Oh. I'll uh…take you to them then." She turned around, but one of the workers yelled to her.

"Get us more water!"

She turned her neck to look at them and put up her hand, to which they threw a large jug, which she caught with no problem, which was impressive being that she had turned her head back around before it touched her hand. "Whatever." She slung the jug over her head, and I could tell that despite Neji's protests, she would end up coming with us.

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

We stood at the gate an hour later, my backpack on and my hair up in a ponytail again. "Alright guys, let's blow this joint!"

Neji clenched his teeth, but said nothing, as I threatened our relationship on me coming. Obviously, I was kidding, but Neji was irritable for me saying it. Oh well. I don't have to hand out water jugs to strangers that are rather rude.

Thank God I'm finally out of there.

* * *

**Okay, so thanks for reading. (Love you guys!) **

**Anyway, thanks to all that reviewed and favorited.**

**Now for news. I will be gone for a week, so hopefully, new chapter will be up next Tuesday? Maybe Monday, but I'm not going to be back till late Sunday, so…**

**Yeah, so this story will end soon! I know, it's sad, but I can't go on forever. I have another story in the making! If you like Lord of the Rings, then I'll be writing a Boromir story, so…read it!**

**And if the LOTR story is already up, and you started this story when it was already complete…well then why are you reading this?**


	18. Chapter 18 : The Adventures of Sharkboy

Rebecca's Point of View

Okay. So here I was stuck in a ball of water watching Guy fight some shark guy from the Akatsuki.

Yes. I said a ball of water.

I'm not even joking people.

Being a swimmer for the first half of my life in Corpus, I could hold my breath for a long time. Tenten however, was getting blue in the face.

Or was that just the water reflecting off her face?

Okay, let's backtrack for a second.

* * *

Team Guy and I were running to aid Team Kakashi (whoop tee doo), and we ran into this…shark guy. He had blue skin, holes in the side of his head for ears, and to top it all off, he had two rows of insanely sharp, pointy (and don't forget shiny) teeth. And he used some kind of jutsu to trap me, Neji, Tenten, and Lee in balls of water.

Fun huh?

* * *

So Guy pulls out a pair of nunchaku to fight with against Sharkboy and his massive fuzzy sword. Each little piece of fuzz had microscopic teeth on it or something. It was creepy as hell.

Suddenly, I hear Guy yelling and getting red in the face, and suddenly, he was hopping all over the place, kicking Sharkboy in the crotch and whatnot. He did some twirly kick and Sharkboy was sent into the…water? (It would sound better to say dust, but we were basically standing in Lake Superior.

Lee, Neji, Tenten and I finally got out of our water cells, and Neji automatically ran to me, asking if I was okay.

"I'm fine. Seriously. You should be worrying about Tenten. She really _is_ blue in the face."

After we all caught our breath and or stopped spitting out water like a fountain (Tenten), we headed off to find Team Kakashi and the Akatsuki hideout.

* * *

"Okay, Team Guy is going to find the seals, got it?" Team Guy and Team Kakashi, once again reunited, were standing outside of the Akatsuki's hideout. Kakashi had explained how the five-pronged seal worked. The ever over-protective Neji wished for me to stay near him, since he thought destroying seals were no big deal without any possibility of getting hurt.

Wimp.

Team Guy, which I guess I was now a part of, split up, walkie-talkie like things in our ears. I went with Neji.

Once we found the seal on a rock in a clearing, I ripped it off and I heard a jutsu activate. (You know, it makes that sort of poof! sound.) Two lumps of weird...silver (?) stuff erupted from the rock that once held the seal. The two silver things grew until they were exact copies of us. Well, their eyes were deep and black, so they weren't exact.

Through the radios, we could hear astonishment coming from Guy, Lee, and Tenten. Obviously, they had the same problem.

"Okay Neji, I'll get you and you get me!" I started walking to Neji number two, leaving the real one befuddled.

Getting ready to fight, I pulled out a kunai, glancing over at my clone as it did the same. Cocking my head, I pulled out a shuriken too. The clone did the same. I stepped forward. The clone didn't.

Okay...so they must get a behavior once the real one shows one. I smiled, looking at Neji's clone, standing there, doing nothing.

"Neji, activate your byakugan." A confused look crossed over his face, but he did it anyway. Immediately, the Neji clone did the same. "I wonder..."

I walked over to the real Neji again and kissed him, making him blush. "What are you doing?"

"Just wanted to say good luck fighting me." He looked really confused now, but the Neji clone was looking at me, almost...possessed? I could feel Neji's eyes following me...or was it my ass?

I dashed inhumanly to the clone, and my clone figured out how to run. She threw her kunai at Neji, so he was preoccupied. Luckily, he hadn't moved yet.

The Neji clone didn't know how to walk yet. "Neji, don't move from that spot!" I yelled back at him, and even though he asked why, I ignored him. He'll figure it out on his own.

Stepping up to the Neji clone, I stroked his cheek, looking into his perplexed eyes. Suddenly, he moved out of my reach. "Dammit Neji." I glanced back at my clone who was swiping at Neji's face. "Well, at least I do something except look like a zombie."

I turned back to the clone and got right up in his face, breathing against his cheek, holding myself up on my tiptoes. I fingered at the clone's shirt buttons, popping them out of their holes. My kunai behind my back, I watched the Neji clone closely and saw he was still possessed by me. I laughed to myself. Neji must have been obsessed with me before we started dating.

Hearing crashes behind me, I rolled my eyes and kissed the Neji clone, making him naturally close his eyes. I stuck the kunai in his back right where his heart would be. The clone's eyes widened and it returned to silver slime once again and then disincarnated right before my eyes.  
I turned and saw my clone on top of Neji, kissing him. I picked my kunai off the ground and shoved it into my clone's head. Neji, seemingly surprised, blinked up at me.

"So that's what we look like when we're together." I twirled my kunai on my finger, eyeing him.

"She did it first. I swear." I laughed at his stuttering remark.

"So long as it's me you're kissing and not someone else's clone."

I pressed my hand into the talk button on the radios. "Anybody need any help? Neji and I are already done."

The first response I got was Tenten, who answered back with an anxious yes. I started to walk in that direction, but Neji grabbed my hand first.  
"Say, what were you doing to get my clone to die so quick?"

"I seduced him. You know, he couldn't keep his eyes off of three things I noticed. My eyes, my ass, and my boobs. Is that all you think of me?" Neji flushed.

"Of course not. I giving you an advantage by...admiring them when you kissed me."

"Sure. So you figured out the jutsu huh?"

"Yeah. They get a behavior once the real one shows it."

"Hm...alright. I believe you there. Besides, I guess I shouldn't complain, since I appreciate that you said admiring instead of looking." I turned back around at that, letting Neji follow me to Tenten's aid.

* * *

Team Guy regrouped again, and we went off to find Deidara, using Neji's byakugan. We found him on a clay bird (what the fuck?) with Gaara in its mouth, apparently looking very much dead according to Neji. But who knows? Maybe he's being eaten alive by clay bugs and Neji doesn't give a shitfuck.

That's one of the many reasons I love him so much.

We saw Deidara jump off after Kakashi used the Mangekyo Sharingan to force Deidara into an illusion.

Seeing he was in a tight situation, Deidara decided he would blow himself up.

I'm not joking. He really did.

Kakashi, being the genius that he is, somehow forced it into another a whole other dimension, saving everyone's lives.

Well, almost everyone.

We all looked over Gaara's lifeless body, some crying, others simply mourning in silence. Chiyo, some old Sand Village lady, walked over to Gaara and somehow, (this whole thing was all a haze to me because I was in shock that someone blew themselves to smithereens) she could bring Gaara's life back, at the cost of her own.

I need a Tylenol.

So, we all gathered around Gaara, looking down at him as he slowly opened his eyes. The first person he saw, ironically, was me.

"Rebecca?"

Naruto started to cheer, totally oblivious to Lee, Guy, and Kakashi holding back a furious Neji.

He can be so touchy sometimes.

Gaara got up, never taking his gaze off me. Before he could speak, I put one of my fingers on his lips.

"Hear me out here Gaara. I understand that you had some weird-ass demon harboring inside you, but if you stalk me all your life, you're going to have no eyes, only one hand, and on the hand you shall have only one finger. And you won't have ankles either. I have a boyfriend, and I am quite happy with him."

I turned, grabbed Neji by the wrist, and walked away toward the Sand Village, whose villagers were already celebrating Gaara's return.

"You know Neji; you don't have to be so overprotective of me. I can take care of myself." I turned to him once we got inside the gates.

"But-"

"No. No buts."

"You're really cute when you're annoyed."

I rolled my eyes and punched him playfully in the arm. "I swear, you're really lucky Lauren wants my happiness more than she hates you."

Wait…Lauren.

Shit.

"Neji…when was Lauren's wedding supposed to be?"

"Um…I think tomorrow."

"SHIT! SHE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

* * *

**Okay everyone. Good news and bad news.**

**Good news is, the story is almost over and I only have to write two more chapters! (And you only have to read two more chapters!)**

**Bad news is, the story is almost over and I only get to write two more chapters! (And you only get to read two more chapters!)**

**Well, I want to thank all that ever favorited or reviewed (I love reviews!!), and if you favorited me as an author...well...that'll make me cry with joy, so...unless you want my tears to be all sad, you might want to favorite me as an author. (That's what I do instead of favoriting individual stories. If I like other things they wrote or it's a series, it's easier that way!)**

**And on another foot,**

**THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER EVEN COME CLOSE TO WRITING A MULTI-CHAPTER STORY!!!!!!!**

**Most of the time, I get bored with it or I don't have time. I usually call it quits about chapter...five.**

**I'm so proud of myself!**

**Chau~**


	19. Chapter 19 : It Was A White Wedding

Hinata's Point of View

"They'll be here."

"Damn straight. If they aren't here, I'll kill them and feed them to Akamaru."

"Don't you think that's a little...harsh?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! IF MY BEST FRIENDS DON'T MAKE IT TO MY GOD DAMN WEDDING, I'LL KILL THEM!"

I sighed. Lauren's hormones were out of control again. If only she hadn't been so stupid as to go and get pregnant. Then, maybe I wouldn't have to listen to her scream at me all the time about Rebecca and Tenten's tardiness.

"You know, they went to find the Akatsuki. They might not have made it...."

Lauren's face scrunched up, and she threw her bouquet at the ground for the third time in the past ten minutes.

"Rebecca always promised me…she would wait to get a tattoo or be in jail before I was married…because she wanted one on the back of her neck or on her arm, and my bridesmaids would always have sleeveless dresses and their hair up. And she promised she would be on her best behavior to steer clear of fights or speeding tickets…just so she could be there to be my maid of honor. And for what? She's probably out there in the sand, bones and decaying flesh!" Lauren broke down into tears, ignoring the two people who came into the doorway.

"It isn't a good omen to think of someone dead on your wedding day, you blubbering idiot." Hinata and Lauren looked up to see a smirking Rebecca in the doorway.

"Rebecca!" Lauren leapt from her seat and hugged Rebecca with all her might. "Thank goodness you're back, Hinata was worried sick!"

"Sorry for taking so long. The Sand Village ANBU had to practically teleport us here."

I saw Neji behind Rebecca, and nodded to her. Apparently, she didn't know he was there, because when she turned around, she said something along the lines of, 'Get the hell out of here. Aren't you part of this shindig too?'

I wondered how Neji could bear to be in a relationship such as theirs, but I was happy for him. I guess it was a good way to show him that he isn't always Mr. High-and-mighty.

"Alright, let's get that strapless green dress with gold stitching on and get this wedding thing over with!" Annoyance and anxiousness sparkled in Rebecca's eyes. "You see how much Lauren planned this whole thing." She added, her hand on the side of her mouth like an elementary school kid.

"I can see you really aren't enjoying this whole dress thing."

"Not at all."

* * *

Rebecca's Point of View

I never thought I would hear Richard Wagner's Bridal Chorus walking up to the altar. That distinctive interval was ringing through my ears as, with Lauren on my arm, we walked our way down the isle, with all eyes on us.

I was leading her down simply because her dad wasn't here and she wanted me, her maid of honor and best friend to do it.

Now I know why they called it maid of honor, because I assure you, the bride didn't come up with it. I really did feel honored that I would be able to walk my best friend down the isle, but, as they said in 27 Dresses, the best part was seeing Shikamaru's face when he saw Lauren in her wedding gowned glory. Now, I glanced over at Neji, who I knew had never seen me in a dress.

Let's just say flabbergasted is the best word I can use to describe the look on his face. Well. I guess I looked pretty damn hot in a dress or something.

So we got up to the first row where Shikamaru's parents were standing on one side and Tsunade, our adoptive mother I'm assuming, on the other. Shikamaru stepped down, took her from me, and I walked to my post, where I would stand for the rest of the ceremony.

I take back being honored.

At least Lauren hugged me before Shikamaru took her away to be forever bonded in marriage.

I stood there for what seemed like eternity and I finally heard the words I had been dying to hear.

"Do you, Shikamaru Nara, take Lauren Black as your…" The words faded as I listened to them, uninterested. There were three main words I was ready to happen. I wanted them to happen now.

"You may kiss the bride."

Okay, so that may have been five words, but the three important ones are you, kiss, and bride. It meant home-free for me!

Or not.

Once I got to Lauren, she automatically pushed me to Neji, who filed out after the bridesmaids.

"Hey there…" I said, scratching the back of my head.

"You look amazing."

"Aw, thanks. That's a relief."

"Why?"

"You were looking at me as if I was from another planet when I walked in."

"I knew you were going to be beautiful in a dress and everything, but I wasn't prepared for that. You look…amazing is the only word I can think of right now my brain is so fried."

"Well, I guess you're the one rambling for once in my life."

"Haha. Very funny of you."

"Okay love birds, it's time to go to the reception, and no Rebecca, you can not wear anything but a dress. I already have one picked out for you." Lauren grabbed my arm, waved goodbye to Neji and Shikamaru, and dragged me down the hallway to the changing room again.

"Okay, you want white with blue or blue with white?"

"Is there a difference between the two?"

"I think the white and blue would be better."

"Whatever you say StacyandClinton."

"You're not on What Not To Wear. You're on Make Lauren's Wedding Reception Amazing And Make Neji Astonished At How Hot You Are. Got it?"

"Whatever."

"Good, now get this on."

She handed me the dress, which was white with tiny blue polka dots that matched my eyes perfectly. It had ruffles at the bottom, and the shoes she handed me were white wedges to make me feel taller.

"Is it past Labor Day?"

"Do you even know if they have the labor day rules here?"

"Touché."

* * *

When Lauren and I walked into the room together, Shikamaru and Neji were waiting for us.

Neji, raising his eyebrows, noticed my change in clothes.

"Is that a cocktail dress you're wearing?"

"Why would you ask me that question? Lauren would know these things, not me."

"True."

"Speaking of, how do you know these things? Are you going to come out of the closet eventually?"

"Do you want me to?"

"…Please tell me you aren't gay."

With my mouth slightly open, he easily slipped his tongue into my mouth. As fast as it happened, it ended.

"Does that answer you question love?"

"I don't know, you mind doing that again so I can check?"

"Ugh. Would you two shut up?" Lauren walked by, her hands covering her ears, Shikamaru following closely behind her. I grabbed his wrist before he could get away.

"You do understand that you do anything to her I find wrong and I will unleash hell and her followers onto you, right?"

"Yes, Lauren warned me you'd give me the break her heart break you face deal."

"Oh, I won't just break your heart. I will do much worse."

"Such as?"

"Use your imagination."

With that, I turned and pulled Neji onto the dance floor.

* * *

Neji turned out to be an amazing dancer, as did I, according to him. While we twirled around the dance floor, I could almost feel Lauren's happiness gushing out of her, unable to contain itself in her body. She had plenty to go around.

But I guess that's how weddings go.

"So, now that we're at a wedding, what do you think of…us?"

I tilted my head, thinking. "Well, I don't know yet. I know I love you, and saying this, I feel like I'm in a chick flick. Jeeze."

Neji laughed and pushed a strand of hair from my face. "You know I love you, right?"

As much as I wanted to go sarcastic on him and put on a surprised face and yell out 'REALLY?!' I didn't. He really looked serious and I could royally ruin the moment.

"Of course I do. I knew that the second you caught me midair and then dropped me on the ground. I knew it even then."

Neji laughed. "Okay, I'm sorry about that. Did it really hurt that much?"

"Hell, I don't remember."

"REBECCA! CATCH!!"

Still looking at Neji, I simply held my hand out, and into was thrown a bouquet of flowers. I suddenly looked down at it and saw Lauren laughing her ass of, Shikamaru smiling.

"Wait…does that mean…?" I looked up at Neji, perplexed.

He shrugged. "I think so."

"Well then, I guess that answers your question."

All Neji could do was smile and lean in to kiss me.

And that's just the way I liked it.

* * *

**Sniff Sniff.**

**All that's left is the epilouge!**

**I think I'm gonna cry!**

**Okay, one order of buisiness though...**

**That my friends, is somewhat the dress I was invisioning. Just imagine it blue and white (or was it white and blue?) in stead of black and white.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing (cough cough)!**

**Kisses!**


	20. Epilouge : It Was Another White Wedding

Rebecca's Point of View

The next twenty years in my life were rather eventful. I got married almost a week after Lauren did, and I had a child by the time Mai, Lauren's daughter was two.

I had a son named Damien, and two years later I had Akira.

As far as relationships go, Naruto is with Hinata (after much work by me and Lauren), Sasuke is back and is with Sakura, Tenten got with Kiba (which no one saw coming), and now, Naruto is Hokage.

Yes, Naruto is Hokage.

And as for Gaara, well, he's with some girl named Matsuri. Good for him, ne?

Well, right now I am watching Mai walk up the isle to go get married to Damien.

Yeah, Damien, as in Neji and my son.

Lauren was thrilled when Mai and Damien started dating, because she never in a million years thought that they, though they were best friends, would ever find romance in each other.

I wasn't surprised at the way that Damien was completely infatuated with her.

Of course, that was Damien and my little secret.

As for Akira, well, she's an ANBU and finds romance tiresome. But then again, she's only sixteen.

Yeah, an ANBU at sixteen. We're proud I guess. Needless to say, I am no longer a ninja. That all ended once I was married. I trust Neji enough to come back alive on every mission.

But if he dies, I'll bring him back to life and then kill him myself.

Good thing that'll never happen.

Well, my story is at an end.

As for what happened to me in Corpus, well, I don't give a damn.

I am perfect right here.

* * *

**I can't belive it.**

**I finished a whole story.**

**I have to say, for my first story ever, I think I did marvelous!**

**I will be (possibly) writing a Boromir (Lord of the Rings) fan fiction, but I will most certainly be writing a Suigetsu fan fiction, because I love me some Sui too!**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing and favoriting, and I hope you laughed at least once.**

**I know I had fun writing this.**

**Sorry to all those who wanted a lime or lemon or whatever. Just let me get better at my writing skills and I might slip one into one of my next stories! **

**Love you all!**

**~Riko**


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